


The Woes Of Duality

by Starlightsruby



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark Sides, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, More tags to come in the future while im writing incase theres any warnings, Redemption, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, and virgil wont stand for it, can get dark at times but i assure you its mixed in with fluff and a semi good ending, i go into depth about the mindscape and the effects the rooms have on the sides, mindscape, poor patton gets corrupted, small mention of body horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-10-19 16:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17605235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlightsruby/pseuds/Starlightsruby
Summary: Patton always sees the good in everyone, even in someone such as Deceit. But while he slowly helps the dark sides to see the good in people, something else is changing, and not for the better…





	1. Chapter 1

Really, Patton had done some reckless things over his time. But he was Thomas’s heart, did his actions need to make sense? Feelings never needed reason and neither did he. Of course, this varied-Patton was never one to really try and apply logic to, Logan could tell you that on the spot. One moment he could be giddy and making sweaters for everyone in the god early hours of the morning, or the next he could be feeling gloomy and have made at least 5 cakes, decorating them excessively with icing and then eating them while sulking. He always did what his emotions dictated, so really was this any different?

“I want to be friends!”

Well ok, maybe this was another matter.

His heart was racing as he had caught Deceit in the hallway one afternoon. It was a rare occurrence to see him wander around this part of the mindscape. It was an unspoken agreement that Thomas’s mind had two areas; the area he and the others lived, and the dark side. Patton had never once travelled to that part of the mindscape-warnings from Logan and Roman were enough to discourage him. And yet…after everything that was going on, all the revelations he had endured through Thomas’s video he couldn’t help but wonder; did Deceit really want to be isolated?

Virgil was once the same, always hiding his true emotions through snarls and mocking words; he found isolation to be his only friend at the time. But he kept coming to see the others despite this, subconsciously he wanted to be part of the group and it made Patton’s heart warm with joy on the realisation. While the others hadn’t been so accepting of Virgil, Patton never really saw the point in hating anybody. It was too draining to keep up such negative emotions in him- especially since he carried Thomas’s heart and morality in him, meaning he had to be in check of his emotions consistently. The heart can be easily swayed, something Patton knew from day one and intended not to ever get the best of him.  
So, when Patton grabbed Deceit’s cloak in a stumble to stop him from leaving and blurting out his declaration of friendship, it all made sense before in his mind that this was the right action. But, when Deceit turned around to look at Patton with a startled look, his mind went blank.

“…. Did you hit your head or something?”

Patton opened his mouth but closed it again when he felt his face flush with embarrassment. Everything he planned to say, his expression of his desire to give Deceit a chance to be apart of the group had left before he could even speak. Swallowing nervously, he let go of his cloak when he realised he was gripping it for too long and shook his head. Backup plan;  
  
“Aha sorry Kiddo! I just saw you were heading back to your place and well, I realised you and I don’t talk that, much do we?”

“Sure we do.”

Deceit scoffed wondering where Patton was getting at this, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Seeing that Deceit wasn’t going to walk off mid-sentence Patton nodded keeping up whatever train of thought he managed to muster up.

“Well…. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out while I cook today? Oh! The others aren’t in now if you’re worried about that also”.

Patton offered softly, rocking on his heels back and forth nervously waiting for Deceit’s response. The taller side had gone into a moment of thought. His hand tapping the side of his face as he gave a small hum in thought. “Well.”

“Well?”

“I am doing something right now, so I have no time to watch you bake. Oh, and don’t take me with you either, I already know this place like the back of my hand.”

For a second Patton’s shoulders lowered in disappointment, but Deceit rolled his eyes at the reaction and coughed to get his attention. He gave a small gesture for Patton to lead the way as the moral side’s eyes lit up with realisation on what Deceit had meant as he grinned. Taking Deceit by the hand he hurriedly took him past the ever-changing hallways of rooms that swapped and closed with each minute. Honestly Deceit really didn’t know how on earth you navigated through this place; he just watched Patton effortlessly go through a planned route that felt like going around in circles till suddenly they stopped in front of the door to the kitchen. Deceit gave a small peer in to see If Patton was telling the truth that no one else was here and much to his relief it was dead quiet.

The room was rather big, while there was a rule that the mindscape would alter to whatever location Thomas was occupying, it was rather when Thomas visited the mindscape would the rules be changed to his arrival. If not, the mindscape acted rather differently, it was a splice of many memories fitted in together or ones that the sides had created. The kitchen mainly was one that the sides had to collectively agree on what it looked like, but rooms themselves could be altered by whatever Side possessed it. Patton had walked in first excitedly rambling about how much fun they would have and if Deceit wanted him to play any music while they cooked.

Deceit cautiously followed inside, honestly, he had no clue why he had agreed. A part of him wanted to bail and go back to his room but there was this curiosity deep in him. What on earth was Patton thinking wanting to hang with him? He wasn’t exactly the nicest company and he could’ve just waited for the others to get back. And yet there he was, humming happily pulling out a large bowl and ingredients. If anything, Deceit thought this was an opportunity to get his bearing around the mindscape more in case he had to use it for spying on the others or causing havoc. Deceit however couldn’t help but grumble over how cheerful Patton was acting right now as he took the seat furthest away from him at the kitchen table. Sitting down he put his hand on his chin bored observing him;

“What are you going to make?”

He murmured as Patton spun around with now a wooden spoon in his hand. “A cake!”

God this was going to be a waste of time.

Not really wanting to carry on the conversation Deceit grunted in response and put his head on the table. His finger trailed the lines on the table, noticing the dents and cracks, no doubt from the mistreatment of the other sides. It was rare to get the time to notice the small details around the room. How the fridge was covered in pictures, each corner littered with either pictures of the group, sketches and even to do lists. The top of the kitchen had fairy lights decorating the borders of the oven- no doubt Patton refused to take those down even after Christmas had finished. If there was anything he noticed, it was that despite the traces of the other side’s possessions in the kitchen,it seemed Patton primarily dominated this area. Just around the counters he could see things he recognised from Patton’s room. His heart radio sitting on the counter with tons of cook books and ornaments. That made Deceit think…

“Do the others not spend time here?”

“Hm? Oh, they do, but only really at random points of the day. I’m in here almost 24/7 if I’m not doing something in my room.”

A small Cheshire like grin painted Deceits face as he had an idea;

“They must love you then, Who wouldn’t want to hang out with someone as charming as yourself-“

But before he could continue Patton had shoved a spoon in Deceits mouth who sputtered in shock drawing back. Wait…. was that…icing?

“No bad talk here while I’m here mister! Now, do you think its good or do I need to add any extra flavouring to it?”

Deceit’s eyes were wide, Patton had completely shrugged off Deceits plan to get into his mind and mess with him. What was worse was the icing tasted great! Damnit! His look of surprise soon turned sour as he folded his arms,huffing;

“…. It’s terrible, change it.”

Smiling with satisfaction, Patton continued his cheerful tune going back to the counter to check on the rest of the cake. Watching him he scowled embarrassed; “I understand you.” Which caused a small giggle from Patton. “I told you Kiddo, I wanted to get to know you better! In fact, you shouldn’t be sitting there bored! Come help me.”

Before Deceit could argue Patton had skipped over and tugged on his arm. At first, he whined and didn’t make any signs that he was going to budge but the smaller side was persistent and even over exaggerated, leaning his body back while clinging to the arm and pretending as if he was trying to pull a long rope or something. He stuck his tounge out; “I can do this all day just watch me! That cake isn’t going to bake itself!”

Looking at him baffled, Deceit knew Patton well enough that he was serious as he rolled his eyes standing up. Hearing Patton squee happily he ushered Deceit to the front of the counter where there were two bowls; one for the icing and the other one for the cake. Handing the whisk to the confused side Patton looked at him expectantly. It was awkward to say the least that Deceit had never actually…cooked anything. Or at least he was always the simple person to just find whatever was lying around the dark sides kitchen and just make do. So, when he was staring at the ingredients already prepared in the bowl he looked to Patton with a small shrug. Patton hummed taking note of Deceit’s confusion as he patted him on the back softly; 

“ Don't worry, It’s simple! I’ve done all the hard work already for you, all you need to do is stir that up for me real good!”

“Putting ingredients in a bowl is certainly a lot of effort, congrats.”

He muttered sarcastically as Patton took no notice of that remark and watched patently as Deceit just sighed and started to mix the ingredients together- well tried. He found himself making quite a lot of mess as the bowl just wouldn’t stay still! Feeling frustrated he grabbed the bowl and tried to tilt it to stir better. Seeing Deceit struggle, the moral side felt a bit bad for him and gently touched his shoulder and his hand; “Here, let me show you.” Letting Deceit still hold the bowl and whisk,he gently manoeuvred his hand to rotate the whisk slower and evenly. His body pressing against Deceits from behind as he peered over to see, his hands helped to bring the bowl brought closer to Deceit’s chest rather than far away so that he would have a stable grip. Slowly and carefully Patton guided Deceit, trying to cast his mind away from how close the two were together in a form of hug. Seeing however Deceit frown in concentration he spoke up;

“You know, when I first started in the kitchen I was awful. I used to accidentally have batter drip from the ceilings! Or heck I even burnt pasta, can you believe that? Logan lectured me for weeks about that incident.”

He chuckled softly feeling their bodies press together in a weird sort of embrace but…neither of them had pulled away. Deceit’s expression was hard to read for sure but, there wasn’t any signs of discomfort from the man but rather he was listening silently to Patton while staring at the bowl in thought;

“Well why’re you still so bad?” Deciet said pouting while keeping his gaze away from Patton.

Patton hummed at the response, still stirring the bowl gently with him as he closed his eyes; “Practice. Again, I've been here more than any of the others, at first, I was frustrated that I couldn’t bake even the simplest of things. But…I wanted to learn. While I do love my room a lot and I just get a rush of nostalgia flow through me, it's also draining? I wanted to do something with my time. Romans always out on adventures every day, Logan keeps in his room studying or making plans for Thomas and Virgil likes to take walks around the mindscape sometimes or just stay in his room listening to music. But I didn’t really... Do much. Before I used to just sit in my room and watch the pictures on my wall and reminisce in what we used to have. But that was only a void in me, cooking helps me actually concentrate on the things that matter and everything I do is made of love.”

Just thinking of how the others face lit up when he prepared dinner for them or offered them snacks made his heart swell with pride…

“So I borrowed as many cook books as I could possibly find and I cracked on!” He said winking and pointing to the discarded shells of the eggs he’d cracked earlier. “Of course the first few attempts like I said ended in disaster but eventually…one day I made the best cake ever. -Well ok the thing was awful I won't lie, but! It was the first cake I had made that wasn’t burnt or deflated! When I took it out the oven and saw it I knew I had found something that made me happy.”

It took a moment for Patton to snap out of his fond memories as he realised his cheek was pressing against the back of Deceits cloak and his heart was racing. Quickly he let go feeling like he overstepped a boundary as he coughed and took the bowl from Deceits hands. Deceit cleared his throat taking a step away from Patton to let him put the temperature as he watched deep in thought.

“Do you do anything that makes you happy Deceit?”

“Huh…?”

He murmured, surprised at the ask, a part of him was about to lie and say there was tons of stuff he enjoyed doing but...really Deceit didn't do anything that compared to what Patton did. On the other side of the mindscape, not everyone there got along and was friendly enough to hang out for every dinner. Something he knew that Virgil would attest to he thought as a snide remark. He frowned softly as he gazed towards the cake in the oven and back to Patton who looked at him with intrigue. It felt awkward being put on the spot and he was starting to get tired of socialising but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that maybe Patton wouldn't laugh at it.

“S-”

“Patton, I’m home. I took a longer path than expected today.”

Virgil's voice cut off Deceit as they could hear the footsteps slowly get clearer towards the kitchen. Deceit hissed in frustration; there was no way he was going to deal with Virgil today. He gave a side glance to Patton but paused to see a sad look on Patton’s face when he had clocked on Deceit was going to run. But instead of begging him to stay, he gave Deceit a soft smile and a small wave mouthing ‘go’ at him. Not needing a second prompt Deceit sunk out of the kitchen leaving the moral side alone just in time for Virgil to arrive. 

Putting on his cheerful smile he was quick to hop over to the door to greet the anxious side in a tackled hug. Virgil whined at the sudden display of affection but it was clear that he was smiling widely as he glanced at the counter and hummed in recognition; “You decided to cook today? I thought you were going to hold off since we weren't around.”

“Oh well, Let's say I had a spark of inspiration today kiddo.” Patton gave a wink and ushered Virgil to sit down as the two began to converse like normal. But...in the back of his mind he couldn't help but feel sad. It wasn't fair that the dark side had to bolt whenever the others had arrived. Alas, this was something he was going to have to try and change if he wanted everyone to get along. His finger trailing the table in thought when suddenly-

“I got it!”

He stood up shouting as Virgil yelped in surprise at the sudden action almost falling off of his chair. “Got what?”

“Oh ah sorry, aha. Just...an idea for a new recipe i want to try.”

He said grinning as he was currently congratulating himself in his head. There was a way Patton could hang with Deceit without having the others chase him off. An idea that he was sure the others would get mad at him for, so it was clear this was going to be a solo mission;

He was going to vist the dark realm. 

….

God that was a waste of time. Deceit hurried quickly down the hallways of his own realm, his feet picking up the pace trying to navigate the halls keeping his head low. The fact that he let Patton get so close to him- that he almost told him something about himself! He bit his lip in frustration, he didn’t understand what happened. When he followed Patton, it was because he wanted to mock him and subtly remember the route around the place and yet when Patton had pressed his body against his for a bowl he had frozen. It was as if he forgot everything in that moment and could only hear the moral sides voice as if it was the only voice in the world he could hear. Tch. It didn’t matter, he was bored anyway so it was a one off.

Walking in his frustration he found himself by the kitchen door as he paused. He hadn’t planned to come here and yet there was a lingering feeling in his heart as he gave a small look inside the kitchen. It was nothing like the other side’s kitchen, this one was abandoned and rather poor in appearance. Dishes racked up high next to the sink, the table had scratch marks from when knives would be thrown around and the wallpaper on the ceiling was barely together as it was. Honestly the place was barely used, if anyone came in here to cook it was when no one was around. Most times if two or more sides were in here it was always an argument of who cooked first which resulted in bickering and potentially fights.  
Not only that but no one really…cooked for the others either, you had to take care of yourself (and make sure no one poisoned your food) 

Sighing,he walked inside and pulled up a chair sitting down. Nothing made sense and yet he never really questioned it before. He loved being alone! Or well he was just used to it, while he wasn’t the subject of ridicule like Virgil was when he first started to hang with the three light sides. It was still a hostile environment in this area, but with his silver tongue and quick thinking he was a pro at avoiding people and showing enough intimidation that the others wouldn’t pick a fight with him- ok that’s a lie, he had a plate thrown at his head and he expertly dodged it while laughing about them in a mocking manner- but still. Most of the time he avoided fights rather easily. 

Tapping the table frustrated he couldn’t help but feel this place was too dreary. Maybe he could come in here more and-

No. 

Now he was being stupid. 

Growling frustratedly, he gripped his hair ruffling it up and groaned,putting his head on the table. What had gotten into him? He could care less about the state of this place, no one would care either way if someone changed it so why bother to even fix it? It didn’t need fixing. He didn’t need fixing. Scowling he shook his head and sat up with a new resolution in mind; He wasn’t going to let Patton get into his head so easily. No. If anything he WOULD win this game. Standing up he brushed his hair back from his face and chuckled to himself turning around back to the door.

If Patton wanted to play this game, then a game he would get.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Sorry for the delay, ive been hit with the flu and it meant everything i was doing went to a sudden halt. Warnings for body horror mentions in this chapter with how the darksides mindscape gets described, apart from that everything is pretty tame. Enjoy!

“Alright…the coast is clear…” Patton murmured to himself, leaning against the corner of the hallway where it broke off into 3 different paths.

Just up ahead was an old door that he knew would take him to the other side. He thought it was going to be a challenge getting this far, but he had been sure to note down Virgil’s path; he liked to walk down to make sure the two didn’t bump into each other. As for Logan, he was busy doing something with Thomas all day so he wasn’t present in the mindscape. Roman per the norm was in his fantasy realm, meaning a perfect opportunity, Patton thought proudly to himself. He had a bag over his shoulder containing some food he had cooked for Deceit beforehand, as well as some other stuff he thought he might enjoy.

Normally he would’ve gone to the dark realm already after his amazing revelation,but he found he was preoccupied with a lot of things that had piled up in Thomas’s life, which he reluctantly sat down and sorted through, his feelings first and foremost. Not only that but he had completely forgotten about the video they were all going to film together, it made him antsy knowing the seconds he was there was seconds away from his grand adventure. The others had noticed of course and merely shrugged it off as Patton just being in an energetic mood - something he thanked them for internally. Although now was the perfect time to sneak away, while everyone was busy, as he quietly walked towards the door. He cringed at how loud the floorboards creaked the closer he got to freedom.

While the mindscape always gave off a warm glow, the door before him screamed bad news. It was a large, metallic black door with a pattern of an eye in the centre. Below his feet, he felt the chills already shuddering through his body from the cold air that blew softly. He knew he had to act fast if he wanted to make sure Virgil didn’t walk by here while he was still standing by the door. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the handle and tried to tug it open only to realise it was stiffer than he imagined it to be. Propping one foot on the wall and both hands gripping the handle, he tried again to yank it open as the door shifted slightly and the sounds of internal cogs and gears spinning allowed the door to click open. Patton almost stumbled back with how fast it suddenly opened as he grinned adjusting his bag and walked inside. When he got a few paces in the door behind him slammed shut and locked itself.

Surrounded in darkness, there was nothing around for him to see clearly. Frowning,he walked on further, feeling the cold air surround him now. When he looked down at his feet he noticed that each step sent small ripples into the ground until suddenly it exploded into a blue light that zipped off into many directions, the walls around him suddenly materialising. Patton couldn’t help but stare in amazement; it was almost identical to the hallways in the other part of the mindscape that he resided. The differences, however, were still noticeable in the aesthetic design. The floor glowed a bright blue with what looked transparent as things would move under his feet. Were they shadows? He wasn’t sure but it was the only thing that allowed the hallway to be seen as there was no other lights present. The walls were a dark purple colour - but that was hard to tell as it changed hues often and looked as if it was made of water when you touched it. The doors ahead of him had what looked like the same eye symbol that the main door possessed.

Speaking of that door…

Turning around, he saw the old door before him was different on this side. It looked more like the doors back in his own realm and a warm glow emitted from it in a comforting presence. A part of him wanted to go back in there since the eyes at each door looked like they were real…While he had no proof, he swore he could feel the burning intensity of a stare behind his back. Rubbing his arms and shivering, he shook his head. His goal was to find Deceit, he could worry about everything else later…With that in mind, he gripped the backpack on his shoulders and began to walk forwards, determined. At first he thought this wasn’t going to be too hard; he didn’t know which room Deceit’s was just yet but he knew if he found the living room or kitchen he could use it as a starting point. Walking up to the forked path, Patton took the left and carried on further down the hallway. Taking a right this time at the next junction, he made sure to pay attention to the doors he was passing; most were closed off and locked. They had a coloured border around the frames that helped keep a reference of where he was going. Patton tried to unlock some of the doors to no avail as he pouted and turned around wondering if maybe he should try the other direction-

“What the…”

When Patton had turned around, he was back in the hallway he started with the mindscape door in front of him. Baffled, he turned around and realised he was teleported back to where he started! He rubbed his eyes, and realised maybe this was going to be harder than planned…. Shaking his head, he decided he’d take a right this time, and with that he took another right turn and one more left. It occurred to him that maybe he should keep a notepad with him when navigating the realm; for starters the first rule, don’t look back was decided. He didn’t want to teleport back to the beginning. The second rule would be that each door had an eye on the top of the frames, some were open and some closed. If the eye was closed it meant he could open that door. (Though annoyingly opening the ones he was able to, showed nothing but pure darkness in each room). And third, the creepiest detail was something was moving under his feet and around the walls. He could occasionally see a large shadow swim past from underneath. Curious, Patton tapped the floor with his feet it sounded like glass and the ground rippled again.

It felt like hours travelling the dark scape. Patton had lost count of how many right turns he had made, especially with the paranoia that something was following him; it was starting to get on his nerves. Any small movement or sound caused the moral side to look around frightened, the cases that made him turn around and forced him back to the beginning. Ruffling his hair frustrated, Patton whined and tried again and again, walking became running as he soon felt the fear start to get the better of him. He ran past hallways opening doors left and right hoping to god for a lead. Behind him he could feel it, the ripple of something now following him as the shadows on the walls started to follow him, blending and twisting around as they whispered;

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Go Home.”

Patton felt his heart race as his eyes were frantic. God this was an awful idea, he had no clue where he was even going. No doubt if the others were here they’d scold him for doing such a reckless action and at this point he wanted to agree with them! Tearing up, he just kept running, afraid that if he stopped for even a second the shadows would reach out and grab him; he could feel the brush of touch against the back of his head putting his hairs on end. Closing his eyes, he wished someone would save him! Anyone-

Deceit.

Opening his eyes, he yelped in surprise as he found himself crashing straight into Deceit who was currently walking down the hallway when he saw the Moral side running in a panic, crashing them both to the floor.

“Ow…”

Deceit grumbled rubbing his head noticing his hat had fallen off in the crash. When he looked up ready to scold whichever fool had decided it’d be funny to hit him, he was taken aback to see Patton on the floor whimpering rubbing his head. When he stopped rubbing his head, Patton looked up only to lock eyes with Deceit as a warm smile suddenly broke out. The smaller side quickly scrambling to tackle Deceit into a tight hug on the floor.

“Oh thank goodness I found you! I was being chased by some shadow monsters, it was horrifying!” He exclaimed happily nuzzling his head into Deceit’s cloak. Deceit frowned looking up only to see the shadows that Patton had talked about had retreated into their walls and floors when they realised Deceit was present. Sighing he stood up grabbing Patton by the arm yanking him up.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not completely safe for a light side like you.” Patton stood up patting the dust off his trouser legs as he pouted embarrassed.

“Ok I know I was in over my head, but-” He paused wagging his finger for Deceit to wait a moment as he pulled his bag from his shoulders opening it up to reveal some plastic bags filled with snacks and cakes he had made. “I realised that spending time with you in my realm is a risky idea when I can’t predict if the others will show up or not. So, I thought I’d visit you here and bring you some snacks! I even brought some of the cake you and I made the other day!”

Deceit was staring at Patton baffled. Was this guy serious? Patton had risked being taken over by the darkness and yet here he was smiling widely holding out the bag for Deceit to take as he just awkwardly took the bag from him and threw it over his shoulders. Trying to understand Patton was honestly giving him a headache. Picking up his hat back from the floor, he fiitted it on his head spinning it around a bit to adjust it back to how he liked it. A part of him was ready to shrug him it off and tell him to go back home. However remembering he wanted another stab at getting at the moral side he knew this was a better opportunity when the other side was already feeling so anxious. Even if Patton wasn’t showing it by first glance, Deceit observed his knees shaking and Patton kept giving small glances around the hallway in case something came back.

Shaking his head, he took Patton by the arm and lead him down the hallway, with one turn left they showed up in front of Deceit’s room.

“You get an hour.” He murmured opening the door, allowing Patton to step inside as he followed closing the door gently.

Patton beamed in amazement at Deceits room.The room was fairly big, large curtains surrounding the walls and covering the windows giving the room a faint green glow on the floor. The bed was rather big on the far edge of the room with a Victorian drawer beside it, each drawer was locked and the handles for each one was carved to look like a snakes body. Not only that, but Deceit seemed to have a collection of potted plants on one of his desks, each a different colour and shape. Apart from that however, there was mainly all the stuff you’d find in the other side’s rooms; a large dresser, some desks and books laying around as well as what looked like a cage next to a rather large mirror on the dressing table. In the cage was a sleeping snake coiled around a wooden bar in the middle.

It honestly looked amazing from first impressions. Patton walked up to the bed, sitting down on it only to marvel at how soft the blankets were. Grinning, he playfully bounced backwards to let the comfort envelop him in a warm embrace.

“Dee your room’s amazing!”

“Dee…?” Deceit mumbled confused? Was that supposed to be a nickname?

Rolling his eyes, he shrugged that off and threw the bag onto his desk and pulled out the food, observing what Patton had brought him. True to Patton’s words, there was a lot of pastries and desserts here that Deceit had never seen before himself. All of them honestly looked appetising- not that he would admit that out loud of course. Shaking his head, he took the last bag out and threw the bag at his feet turning to Patton.

“So, why the food anyway? Is this supposed to be some peace offering?” Patton hummed at that sitting up.

“You told me you don’t cook remember? I can’t imagine what you must be having for dinner each day.”

“Jee thanks, rub it in much.” Deceit scowled in thought, crossing his arms pouting at that as Patton noticed and waved his arms frantically.

“Ah no offense! What I mean is that, I think this is a great chance for me to bring you some meals that I really like so that you don’t have to go into the kitchen when the others are there if you don’t want to! Heck if you want I don’t mind teaching you how to cook Kiddo, it’d be fun!”

Fun was hardly what Deceit would call this right now. However he shook his head wondering what he should say. If Patton stayed here the other sides would figure it out- even worse if they realised he’s cooking for Deceit then he’d never hear the end of it from the others….God that was the last thing he wanted. Yet Patton was staring at him with those hopeful innocent eyes that made him want to look away awkwardly. If he stared into them for too long he always felt like he would get lost in them, that he would start talking with no filter and that was something he wanted to avoid.

“The others would be pleased to see morality himself wandering the hallways no doubt.”

Deceit commented absentmindedly but made sure that Patton had heard his warning as that caused Patton to pause what he was doing as he frowned gripping the sheets. “Do they know I’m here? I haven’t seen any of them actually when I was looking for you.”

“Well…you haven’t seen them but they’ve certainly seen you.” Deceit murmured rather vaguely as he walked over to the bed to sit beside Patton. He pressed his fingers against his lips and whistled a small tune. Patton was curious to what he was doing but soon he felt something slither up his neck, he jumped up and screamed as he felt whatever crawled up his back flop down onto the bed. Deceit only chuckled at Patton’s reaction as he scooped up the snake that fell onto the blankets, its tongue out making a tiny hissing sound before wrapping its body around Deceit’s hand. Content with its position the snake soon settled down closing its eyes to rest.

Patton had to give himself a second to calm down as he looked curiously at the snake in Deceit’s grip. It wasn’t the same one as the one in the cage he saw. This one was black with yellow beaded eyes and small white spots around its body. It was rather small in appearance, only managing to cover Deceit’s wrist barely and yet it looked so…

“Cute!”

“Excuse me?”

“Your little buddy! He gave me quite a scare I won’t lie, but he looks so adorable like that!”

He said happily kneeling now in front of Deceit to get a closer look at the snake. Deceit was rather surprised as he put a hand to his chin in thought;

“So spiders terrify you…but snakes are just fine.” Deceit had also noticed how close Patton was, his head leaning against his arms looking lovingly at his hand as the snake peered at Patton curiously sticking its tongue out only to cause a squealing reaction from the side. Honestly Patton was confusing him, not only did this idiot wander off on his own in the darkness but here he was trying to make friends with his snake by…sticking his tongue back at the snake? Dear god this was too much. He couldn’t help the small smile at the silly sight- no wait.

Ok, he was getting distracted again-he needed to think of a battle plan. Originally, he was hoping to have his snake appear on his back would make Patton scream and run out the door, but he had to expect at this point that he needed to think outside the box for this one. He had enough with playing kind. Leaning forward he looked at Patton quietly, his eyes narrowed as he gave a sly smirk.

“Have I told you the story about this place and why the others visit here?” Patton looked up curiously at Deceit as he shook his head. “Mn well it’s quite complicated you see. This place is everything Thomas wants to repress, from us sides to the walls themselves. You’ve noticed it yourself, haven’t you? They breathe. This whole mindscape is an entity, the walls can hear everything that happens, the floors will follow your every movement. With you being here Patton, you’re clearly being ignored, and why wouldn’t you? You have so many insecurities in your heart. Why else would you abandon your own friends to come here?”

He hummed standing up taking his snake and putting it back up on the counter.

“Haven’t you noticed you’re being watched?”

Patton froze at that gripping his chest. Deceit had gotten him right where he wanted, it was time to stop this silly farce of pretending like they were friends and remind Patton who he was really messing with. Facing away from him he gripped the mantlepiece turning around so that Patton could see the faint glow of his eyes with a grin eerie to match.

“I’ve appreciated this playful exchange between us, but it’s time you remember where you are right now Patton. You are safe if you stay with me. Is that what you want? To be a fool and follow a snake into the darkness? If I was you, I’d stay as far as you could from me, all I’ll do Is lead you into danger.”

He hissed lowly as the room got darker around them, the curtains moving back and forth softly as the only thing that mattered was the two sides in the room. Hopefully this would give Patton the clear message that Deceit didn’t want him around, that he was happier on his own. So, he waited for the other side’s response crossing his arms waiting for an answer. Patton had been looking down in thought, his brows furrowed in deep thought as he shook his head.

“You’re wrong.”

“Of course, I am- wait what?”

Patton looked up now determined as he stood up.

“Sure, I can tell I’m not wanted here, there isn’t a minute where I can’t feel something ready to pull me back and sure…I’m scared. But If there’s anything you’re wrong about is about yourself! I’ve been with you for a while now and you could’ve easily let the shadows grab me back there and leave me for dead, but you didn’t!” He said walking towards the taller side taking his hand gently in his. “I…I can feel things a bit differently from the everyone- an empath if you want to take it in that way- and I felt something in you Deceit, that I wanted to know better. Even if you do push me away- which don’t think, mister, I don’t get what you’re doing right now. You and Virgil really are alike at times so….so I hope one day you can trust me.”

Deceit stood there frozen, his heart racing as he felt the anger in him grow at Patton’s words. Why was this happening? No…. No why was he saying those things!? The darkscape wasn’t like Patton’s side of the mindscape, it wasn’t filled with kindness or second chances. It was a world of cruelty and a fight to make sure you weren’t lost in the everlasting darkness that surrounded them. And yet…Patton emitted a glow of light that Deceit hadn’t noticed at first, it wasn’t something obvious but the warmth from his grip as well as the loving gaze in his look started to break down all the walls he had built up. It got to a point that his shoulders slouched, and his expression soon turned weary and lost. What was even going on anymore? Was it worth it trying to scare Patton away if all he was going to do was evade all his attempts at making him go away? Feeling a headache coming on Deceit rubbed his eyes and took a step away from Patton to collect his thoughts. He let go of Patton’s hand and walked over to his mirror.

“Why…are you so insistent? Is being friends really your goal here?” He murmured.

Patton didn’t approach him this time and instead shook his head. “Does there need to be a deeper reason?”

“No…I suppose not coming from you.”

The two stood there in silence, a part of Deceit was thankful that Patton didn’t persist on after that point and instead walked back over to the bed touching it softly before sitting down. He wanted to wait for Deceit before making any moves as the taller side was looking at the mirror now through his hands that rubbed his eyes tiredly. God he really was going to allow Patton to visit here more wasn’t he? Whatever was going to happen though that could wait for later, he glanced down at his other hand that was lightly being nipped by his small snake that looked up at him with curiosity. Sighing he knew that he would have to rethink things for another time as he turned around to Patton.

For now he would just have to make due with being… friends with the moral side.

“It’s becoming rather early, I won’t show you to the exit now.”

Nodding Patton stood up and waited patiently for Deceit to escort him out. The two walked back down the hallway, Deceit walking at a slightly faster pace as Patton tried to keep up with him, clinging onto the back of his cloak in case he got lost again. Thankfully none of the shadows or figures he had felt follow him previously were there; it was only the two of them as they quietly navigated through the illuminated pathway. Patton was watching curiously ahead of him, wondering how Deceit was feeling. Patton wasn’t stupid; he knew this wasn’t going to be easy to get the dark side the lighten up to him, especially with how closely guarded he kept his heart. But…Something told him he might’ve made some progress today. A thought that gave a small smile to his face.

Making it to the exit Deceit turned around and nodded for Patton to go through again.

“So… Am I allowed to visit you soon or…?”

“….No, I would mind that.”

Patton beamed at the spark of hope in his heart as he nodded.

“Enjoy the food I made you, and oh I promise I’ll keep this secret between us for your sake.”

And with that Patton walked through the door back to his own realm leaving Deceit alone once more as he turned around and began to walk once more.

“So that was interesting.”

A voice spoke out in the darkness causing him to stop and groan in annoyance. “It was less than ideal.” The voice chuckled at his response as the shadows on the walls soon started to emerge again, eyes of red and green showing up with a wide grin in its silhouette form. A large shadow formed underneath him as the blue hue soon changed and altered to a light purple.

“You like his company, don’t you?” It asked as Deceit’s eyes narrowed spinning around to face the shadows all around him.

“Are you putting words in my mouth now?”

“But we’re right aren’t we? We can’t feel the same hatred from you. You’re actually thinking about warming up to him aren’t you…?”

Deceit faltered at that remark as he sighed pulling his hat over his eyes. A part of him was so ready to venomously deny it but he knew who he was dealing with here, that trying to lie would be pointless. Whatever Patton’s trip had done to affect him was none of their business, that was for him to figure out on his own as he ignored them and walked off. Hushed whispers began to echo around the room at his choice before turning into laughter, louder and louder echoing around the room.

“Deceit’s found his match!”

“He’s starting to change!”

Gritting his teeth he walked on faster back to his room;

“The moral side is starting to change too-“

The door slammed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: and we’re back again peeps! slightly longer update this time round as we get the other sides now coming into the story~

Patton had no problems going home that night, slipping back through the door to the warm embrace of the hallway he had grown so accustomed to. He followed the trail back to his room only to notice that when he passed the living room the TV was on and playing rather quietly. Virgil was curled up on the sofa, a hand on his cheek as he was dozing off. Smiling softly, Patton knew he could take a detour as he walked up to the anxious side quietly. Nearly half-asleep, Virgil hadn't noticed Patton take a blanket from the basket beside the couch and wrapped it around him, taken back by the sudden warmth as he looked up to see Patton wave at him quietly.

“Pat…? When did you get home?”

“Oh just now, I was busy doing some errands today.” He whispered taking a seat next to Virgil. From observation,Virgil was playing one of Patton’s favourite films, which made his heart swell with happiness as he took the blanket and shuffled himself inside so the two of them could share the heat together. Their knees pressed together as Virgil hummed at Patton’s response, trying to look for the remote to pause the TV.

“Did you sort it all out?” 

He asked quietly grabbing the remote from under the pillow behind him and paused it leaving nothing but the soft glow from the tv to illuminate their bodies. Patton focused on his breathing as he smiled gently;

“Yeah…I think I’m starting to get a break through.”

Virgil stared at him quietly. He was quick to notice Patton’s dreamy look as he sighed and curled his knees to his chest. A part of him wanted to question what he had been doing all day since Virgil couldn’t find him in the kitchen at any point of the day, and the others hadn’t seen him either. But it was already midnight and Patton looked exhausted from an observing glance. Shaking his head, he sat up and turned the tv off,extending a hand out to Patton. 

“Come on, it’s getting late and you need rest.”

“What about you?” Patton asked taking his hand and was lifted onto his feat.

“I couldn’t really sleep so I was trying to distract my mind; I might take one last walk around the place and call it quits for the day.”

He could tell Patton was giving that same look of concern per the norm on his habits of avoiding sleep. It wasn’t as if Virgil was doing it on purpose however; being anxiety meant a normal task became ten times harder for him to cope with. Even sleeping alone brought too many thoughts he didn’t want to deal with. Fears that while sleeping something might happen to Thomas, or what if he makes one wrong move that ruins everything, or that he might forget something they needed to do the next day. It left him tossing and turning restlessly, feeling guilty that he could even think he could sleep…Patton knew this also; he had tried many attempts to help Virgil sleep at night and while it would work when the moral side was around, Patton couldn’t just babysit him every night. Virgil had to find his own method and so far it seemed walking was a good cool off to get all his troubling thoughts out of the way before returning to his room.

Sighing, Patton nodded and walked out towards the door. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow kiddo, make sure you rest well tonight!” He said, booping Virgil’s nose teasingly before turning the other direction and walking away. He wasn’t aware that Virgil was looking at him questioningly as he turned a left and began his route to his room that he memorised many times before. However, something felt odd when he took the second right; normally at this point he’d be passing the kitchen, but he was in a hallway filled with doors untouched by the other sides. Confused he decided to backtrack and perhaps take the left instead- but the same result happened. Patton KNEW where his room was, it was easy, it was one left, two rights and straight on. So what on earth was going on?

Feeling a headache coming on Patton stopped and leant against the wall in thought.

“Are you lost?”

Screaming in shock Patton jumped up almost whacking Virgil in the face who quickly had to dodge out the way. “Virg...?”

“Yeah, you almost hit me there. Are you alright?”

Patton opened his mouth, wanting to laugh it off and give an excuse but honestly, he was just so…taken back that he couldn’t find his own room. Virgil had seen his lost expression and shook his head taking his hand tugging him along. Patton didn’t argue and helplessly followed along behind the anxious side. He kept looking at his feet in thought. The ground below him wasn’t glowing and he was certain he wasn’t still in the dark scape, so then why was he getting lost now? His hand gripped Virgil’s tighter and a second later he felt his hand squeezed back, which helped him feel grounded.

Taking the second left, Virgil led Patton to his door which glowed softly with fairy lights around the border flickering on and off. He took a step to the side to allow Patton to go through but paused when he saw the side looking at the door in thought, his expression stern as if he was taken back that Virgil would lead him here. Before Virgil would ask Patton what was up, that once troubled expression switched back into a cheerful smile;

“Thanks kiddo, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

And with that he was quick to hurry inside and close the door, leaving the taller side to stare in confusion. Virgil shrugged his shoulders, making his way back to his own room. Whatever the problem was with Patton, hopefully it would be sorted by the next day, right?  
\--  
“How about we play twister?”

Roman had held up a box in front of the others the next day rather proudly. Patton had finished cooking breakfast for everyone and it was one of those days when no one had to really run off to any pressing matters. Patton was surprised by Roman’s outburst, imagining that he would just slip back into his room after food and do his own thing- normally it was Patton who suggested doing a family activity together. Yet all he was thinking about was when he could see Deceit again, though it wasn’t fair on the others if he kept slipping away. And while he wouldn’t say it out loud, he knew Virgil caught on that something wasn’t right yesterday- and this morning! Once again Patton found himself frustrated trying to navigate his way to the kitchen, managing to get there in half an hour through persistent running. Luckily Virgil hadn’t brought this up to him, most likely respecting Patton’s personal issues and hopefully chalking it up to perhaps being clumsy and tired since he came back to late.

Alas, maybe it would be nice to do something with the others since it had been so long since they really had any time together. Logan looked up from the book he was reading to see what Roman was holding only to sigh and fix his glasses. “I’d prefer something along the lines of scrabble, we don’t even have the space for you to set up the game-“

“I’ll do it!”

Both Patton and Roman called out in unison as they looked to each other with a grin. Thank god also, Patton thought, cause moving the sofas was never an easy task and thankfully Roman was the stronger one of the two. Skipping over to the Prince’s side,they took both ends of the sofa and lifted it up to move it to the corner of the room. Virgil watched them move furniture back and forth as he sighed and stood up, grabbing the game and starting to lay it on the floor. Once everything was set up, Roman beamed proudly at their work and patted Patton on the back before taking his boots off and throwing it across the room.

“Ok someone has to be in charge of the wheel, whose doing that first-“

“I’ll do it!”

Logan called out quickly knowing Virgil was about to do the same thing. Virgil pouted that Logan got there before him as he reluctantly took his own shoes off and placing them against the wall. Patton had already kicked his shoes off and was bouncing from one foot to the other grinning. Knowing how this game was going to go, it was clear it was going to get competitive fast. Roman was too prideful to lose and Virgil’s goal was both to throw Roman off and to survive for as long as he could. Meanwhile, Patton only found the whole thing enjoyable and didn’t mind losing. Logan took the board and sat down on the floor in front of them spinning the wheel;

“Ok, left foot red.”

Roman, having to be extra, already threw his foot down on the nearest red spot. Virgil followed but made sure to give Roman a quick nudge as the game started off simple at first. It wasn’t until the tenth spin that limbs were now entangled in each other’s. Patton was the lowest to the floor,with both his hands stretched out on the two marks. Virgil and Roman were just above him in a tangled mess with their arms and legs; scowling at each other the entire time taunting the other one to fall over. Honestly Patton couldn’t help but laugh at how silly the two were being. He started to wonder what it’d be like if Deceit would play with them. No doubt it would become hectic as the other side would most likely sneak his way around the matt and slip the others up. Patton could only imagine the playful smirk on his face watching Roman fall over in victory.

Sigh.

He missed Deceit…Patton wondered how he was holding up from the last visit. No doubt he must have had a lot on his mind…. Speaking of mind…

He knew Logan was speaking but it was starting to get muffled out, a ringing headache forming in his head as he took one arm that was free again to rub his temple. The room was slowly starting to spin as he kept blinking to get rid of the black spots. Why was he feeling so dizzy…?

Thud.

Patton had tried to put his hand back on the same spot but managed to slip up and lose his balance falling face first into the mat. This caused a ‘oooh’ from Roman who watched Patton fall over, he was about to reach out to see if he was ok, but Virgil took the opportunity to quickly trip up Roman as he soon tumbled over as well, making Virgil the winner.

“Hah, should’ve been looking at what you were doing princey.”

“No fair, it wasn’t your turn!”

Roman exclaimed sitting up frustrated as Logan cleared his throat to get his attention; “Actually, it was. Virgil wins this round.”

Patton grumbled, feeling the plastic cover smush against his face. He could faintly hear the muffled argument between the two sides above him as he slowly sat back up rubbing his eyes. The headache soon fading as if it was never there in the first place. He felt a hand on his shoulder soon after as he turned around to see Logan standing above him looking concerned. “Do you want to sit this one out?” He asked curiously as Patton took a moment to gather his thoughts together. After a moment he nodded and stood back up wobbling slightly before getting his footing and giving Logan a warm smile;

“Yeah…I guess I don’t want to fall-ter again now do I?”

“Oh my god. Just sit over there already.” Logan grumbled handing the board over to Patton and grabbed the other two sides by the collars yanking them up and away from each other. Roman flailed his limbs about demanding a rematch to which Logan rolled his eyes and told him they were. Patton sat down on a chair that was moved away from the action as he sat on his legs and curled up spinning the board resuming the game. The game carried on for an hour or so as Patton was starting to get tired and distracted, his hand pressed against his cheek bored calling out the colours. In the corner of his gaze through something was bothering him; every time he wasn’t paying attention he swore he could see something moving, very faintly without a noise. Yet every time he took a quick glance nothing was there, apart of him thought it was a mouse but there was no such confirmation yet as it was starting to bother him;

“So, What was all that food you cooked yesterday Patton? I don’t think I saw any of it today.”  
“Huh?”

Patton snapped back into focus to see the others seemed to had been in a conversation while all caught up in each other. Roman was looking at him expectantly as he fumbled to quickly spin the wheel. “Right hand blue- I had it yesterday, no need to go to waste really.” Roman was quick to get ahead of the others and literally dove towards the nearest blue spot causing the others to groan knowing they weren’t fast enough and had to twist their bodies around for a more inconvenient spot.

“While I do agree with you Patton, food shouldn’t be left alone for too long. It is curious that all the food you cooked yesterday was eaten by you alone, seeing as you had served for nearly a dinner of three that day.”

Logan muffled out hidden underneath Roman at this point trying to perch his glasses back, up on his face from slipping off. Virgil was barely keeping balance at this point, sweat falling down his cheek as his arms were trembling from the awkward position he was in. Patton was fumbling, wondering if he should spin the wheel again seeing how one of them was going to drop soon, and once one did they all would. Roman noticed and groaned irritatedly, being determined to keep steady while the other two were already starting to wobble from the strain.

“Well…” Patton thought about how he was going to answer it but decided to quickly spin the wheel once more resulting in both Logan and Virgil shouting No in horror as the next spot was certain to topple them over.

“Left foot green!”

And with that Patton saw the evil glint in Romans eyes; he was quick to thrust his leg in the air, avoiding the two and grabbing the green spot closest to him, causing the other two to scramble and fall over with a thud. This ended the game once and for all resulting in a chorus of groans from Logan and Virgil helplessly face down on the floor. Chuckling softly, Patton stood up and skipped over to them, lending a hand so each of them could get their balance back up again. Thankfully after that stunt, Roman and Logic had forgotten all about the food and instead had to listen to Roman boast about how he had been training building up to this day (And by training he meant he was cheating since he was on quests almost every day while the other two didn’t have the time nor energy to do such dangerous stunts.) And while although Virgil didn’t bring it up at first either, it was clear to Patton that he was looking at him questionably knowing Patton purposely threw that game in early.

It wasn’t too hard however to dismiss everyone after the game, offering to cook up lunch for them when they wanted it. Roman and Logan nodded in agreement and went off to their own respective rooms, while Virgil hung around afterwards, his hands in his jacket pocket looking awkward as if he wanted to speak up but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Patton smiled softly at that and gently walked over taking his arm into his linking them together. “How about you help me cook something today?”

He had enough time to kill before he tried his little trip again, and seeing Virgil visibly relax when Patton understood his intentions warmed his heart significantly. The two shared a bond that Patton never wanted to see be forgotten, to see the anxious side soften up around him. The two had an unspoken agreement that sometimes words weren’t needed between them, that their presence alone was comforting to the other one. Out of all the sides, they had clicked rather fast the moment Virgil began to lighten up around the others and be who he really wanted to be inside. Sure, they had their ups and downs, no friendship was always sunshine and rainbows- despite how much Patton would’ve loved that. No, compared to Roman and Logan, Virgil was someone special and as different from Patton as he could get. There was times Virgil thought Patton’s overly affectionate manner was a bit too much to handle, and sometimes, while not intentionally, Patton felt upset when Virgil thought that he could do everything on his own without consulting the moral side.

This…This was why also Patton hadn’t bothered to bring up his trips to Deceit just yet. While it wasn’t said between the sides, it was known that Virgil was once a dark side. Before he was friends with the others, he used to live in the dark sides mindscape and visited on occasion. Patton could still remember the days he’d come at night for a water in the kitchen only to see Virgil curled up on the chair with his knees up holding a cup of coffee. When he saw the moral side he’d initially panic and promise he’d leave, but Patton shook his head and took a seat beside him, offering to bake him some sweets to go with his drink. This was before he had his revelation with the other sides however, so Virgil at the time wasn’t so kind to the others in the way he spoke or held himself; always hunched up and glaring as if he was ready to attack at any minute. And yet the two always shared a cup together at night for a while, Virgil not being ready to come to the mindscape during the day as he felt more at ease, he used to say;

“It’s nice…the darkness, I can slip away easily if I think something might go wrong.”

But it was Virgil who knew it more than anyone else how terrifying the darkness could really be.

While he never spoke about the dark realm when he lived with the others, he thought about the place with a sense of disgust and fear. As if there was something there that wasn’t natural… No doubt if Patton told him he was going there he’d have a heart attack. Virgil took the dark sides and their home very seriously, telling the others there was never any worth for any of them to go over there, and if anyone did need something from that side, Virgil would offer to go in their place having known the place for years and how to navigate the area with ease.  
There was something however that interested Patton now that he thought about it as he tugged Virgil to follow him to the kitchen.

Virgil was the only side to be able to navigate both realms with ease.  
It was never something Patton thought he’d have to consider, but after his trip and how much struggle he had just finding Deceit, he wondered what really the nature of the mindscape was. Could you easily just swap just like that? If so…could Patton, then be able to navigate the place with ease without needing Deceit to help him? Beaming with the idea he managed to get to the kitchen rather easily this time and pulled Virgil a seat.

“You want your coffee black right?”

“Just like my soul.”

Patton giggled at Virgil’s response as he made small finger guns as he got himself comfortable. Pulling the cups and saucers out, he made sure to separate the tea from the coffee and let the hot water boil. While he was doing this he couldn’t help but tap the counter in thought; maybe he should bring some of his old equipment with him? When he stopped to pay attention, there was a lot of trinkets he didn’t really need in this kitchen per se.  
Virgil was observant to notice Patton starting to collect some pans and plates and putting them on a pile in the corner.

“You uh…doing ok there Pat?”

“Hm?”

Patton spun around to him confused but looked down to where Virgil was pointing as he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. He was balancing a plate and a couple of wooden spoons and spatulas in his hand that he was shoving to a corner to collect later. “Ah this? I um…. Oh! Silly me I should’ve told you sooner, I was thinking of painting some of my utensils. I realised I have so many and it’s so boring if they’re all the exact same.” He explained, putting them neatly in a pile together and turning to Virgil with a small smile, waiting for his approval.

Squinting slightly at Patton’s lie, he eventually shrugged resuming to drink his coffee. Breathing out quietly Patton resumed to collect all the utensils he was going to bring with him in a neat pile. Once he was satisfied Patton tapped his foot in thought, a hand covering his chin as he hummed wondering what he should cook today. It had to be something short and simple, mainly because he did want to go to the other side before it got dark out and, he wasn’t feeling too adventurous today. After a moment, he snapped his fingers together proudly; why not cookies?

Rolling with the idea Patton was now back in his element, collecting everything he needed and throwing it on the table in front of Virgil.

“Let the cooking, begin!”

It had taken them at least two hours to bake the cookies, probably because during the process Patton and Virgil ended up play fighting by throwing flour at each other and laughing when the other looked white as a sheet. The cookies were finished baking in the oven as Patton pulled them out, giving a noise of content of how good they smelled. Virgil was not too far back either, closing his eyes and embracing the delicious aroma as he reached out to grab one from Patton but was stopped when Patton patted his wrist shaking his head; “Let them cool off silly! You’ll burn your hand. Now shoo, back to the table and I'll give you one.”

Virgil pouted at that slouching in defeat as he made his way back to the table patiently. When Patton eventually placed them in front of him, he could feel himself almost drool at how the steam gently came off the cookies, the melted chocolate imbedded inside oozing out on the plate. Not wasting a second, he was quick to eat as many as he could, earning a well-earned laugh from Patton, who was pleased that they came out well. With that sorted, he looked under the sink to grab a bag from the cupboard and started to pack the pots and pans into one bag, and another for the tiny equipment as he hoisted them both up trying to balance. 

“I’m off to paint kiddo, I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t make too much of a mess.” 

Virgil hummed in response, waving as the moral side hurried away. Though he had a lazy smile seeing him go off, the smile soon faded into a concerned look. Standing up he took the baked goods into his hands and peered around the door.

It wouldn’t hurt to see where Patton was going, would it?  
\--  
Today was irritating. Deceit had found himself tapping the table in front of him impatiently as his snake had decided to accompany him today, coiled around his fingers and moving ever so slightly to get accommodated. He was summoned by the other dark sides that morning for a ‘meeting’. It seemed Thomas was falling into a dangerous territory in real life due to the actions he was taking, even if he himself was not aware of it. Now while the light sides would be over there fixing the problem, it was the dark sides job to see if they could spark the fire of the issues further. They were currently sitting in the living room which had one long oak table in the centre and some chairs while the floor and walls were pitch black, making it look like they were in the void of space in this meeting. Shadows perched themselves around the table, their eyes glowing with their respective colours. No one was truly distinguishable in this realm; all their forms were blurred to the other and looked like a blurred image.

Deceit had offered that perhaps he should take the helm and make Thomas lie to his friends. It would buy them time and would mean no one had to do any arguing today. An idea he hoped they would just agree and end this meeting for the day, but one spoke up in retaliation;

“Lying can only get us so far Deceit. Its clear we must let Thomas act before they have a chance to have a go at him.”

“Why even is Thomas acting like this anyway? I know we cause him shit at times, but it seems he’s actively decided not to care about his friend’s dilemma because it didn’t seem important. When we all bloody know fully well how much he cares for his friends.”

Another side spoke up, dragging their finger against the table irritably. It wasn’t hard for the sides to notice Thomas’s lack of care as of late was something they all didn’t expect, and from countless hours of arguing. It was agreed that none of them had done anything to provoke this situation. Now Thomas was dealing with a pissed off friend because of how insensitive he was towards them. Deceit couldn’t deny he also was intrigued by this sudden shift; it wasn’t anything major, but it was enough to cause concern from all of them, though he had no doubt that the light sides would probably fix the situation before they could even conclude.

No doubt Patton could fix this problem with ease-

That made Deceit pause internally at the very notion that he was thinking of relying on Patton on this occasion. But when he did take a moment to think about it, Patton was perfect for this job- he was Thomas’s moral side. No doubt he could find out what was troubling Thomas’s faster than the others. Meaning….He would have to see the light side soon. That didn’t exactly bring a bad feeling in him this time around, he had slowly come to terms that Patton just simply was a new experience Deceit had to endure with now. Even if the other sides mocked him relentlessly over the ‘acclaimed’ friendship, he was curious what would Patton do now with this new development.

Groaning lowly under his breath, he was irritated that he couldn’t get his mind off the moral side. The others were arguing around him and yet he was more impatient that he couldn’t go to the light side and just find out the root of the problem.

And stare into those ocean eyes once more-

Okay. Now he needed to stop that.

“Got a problem there, Deceit?”

“Yes.”

Deceit snapped back, hissing as he crossed his arms and glaring at the side in front of him. He needed to wash those thoughts away now, it wasn’t the time, especially if the others were now wary of him. Taking his hat off for a moment to readjust himself, he brushed the hair from his face with his gloved hand before putting it back on and leaning forward on the table. His elbows were planted firmly as he looked up into the mirage of shadows with a glare.

“It’s clear isn’t it? We watch and see what happens. Thomas is going to solve this situation easily and it certainly won’t escalate. Something we wouldn’t want to see happen to the light sides now do we?”

His tone brushed with the lies he was so accustomed to spill with such ease.

The others failed to speak up at that moment, but it didn’t matter cause there was a sound of clanging and crash sounds deep within the halls causing them all to stand up cautious. None of them spoke in that moment, waiting to hear if there was more crashing, but soon their tension let up when they heard a voice faint from down the hall.

“Ahh its all over the floor…”

Deceit felt his eyes widen when he realised who it was as he was quick to leave the room, ignoring the snickering from the shadows. Down the hallway, he sprinted towards the sound till he was brought to the kitchen, his hand gripping the door way hoping to god he didn’t get caught or hurt-

“Oh hey Dee!”

Huh…?

Deceit looked up out of breath to see Patton was laying out the equipment he brought onto the kitchen table, however some of it had fallen to the floor. He was on the floor currently trying to pick it all back up but was fumbling and making quite a lot of noise. Knowing he wasn’t in any real danger let him sigh and sink his shoulders in relief.

“What are you doing?” He asked walking inside now lending a hand to pick up a pan from the floor and handing it to the moral side.

“Well, I had an idea today. I thought I’d give this place a little touch up- Don’t worry, I’m not going to completely change everything. I was thinking of just giving you guys some of the spare kitchen equipment I barely use anymore and perhaps cleaning up the mess around the counter so that it’s a bit easier to cook in here.”

He said proudly, putting both hands on his hips waiting for Deceits reaction. He honestly looked like a puppy in that moment, waiting for approval to continue what he was doing as he rocked back and forth on his heels excitedly. Chuckling softly, Deceit nodded, “I won’t lend you a hand.” He murmured causing a squeal from Patton who was already starting to scan the area for places he could put the pots and pans since the structure of the kitchen was different and the drawers were filled with dust and cobwebs. 

Taking a few plates himself, he went to the nearest closet and wiped the dust away from the surface before putting them in.

“So, you didn’t make it here on your own then?”

“I was so relieved let me tell you, I did get lost for a few seconds but then I remembered the route you showed me, and I was able to make it here in one piece!”

Deceit looked to Patton surprised; there was no fixed route- so how did he…?

“God these dishes are dirty! I guess you and I have a lot to work out, today don’t we?”

He supposed that had to be a question for another time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: hoof things are starting to turn spooky…small mention of blood in this one but like super vaguely.

_ “So, you’ve come back.” _

 

The shadows poured one by one through the walls, materialising to the surface, the floor below echoing with each step as eyes watched him from all directions; shadows pooling at his feet as he gritted his teeth and ignored the voices making his way through the hallway. Each step caused ripples on the floor illuminating the path before him.

 

_ “We’ve missed you.” _

 

_ “Are you finally going to come back to us once and for all?” _

 

The voices whispered in his ear, some giggling at his frustrations as he slapped away the hands that reached out towards him. He had to ignore them- more pressing matters were at hand. As much as he hated being in this dark world, he had a goal he needed to achieve. Even though it pained him to have to think about the implications,he was positive he saw Patton walk through the doorway that connected the two realms. What on earth was Patton doing? Didn’t he warn him and the others countless of times how dangerous this place could really be? It didn’t matter now…He would get to the bottom of this. He strolled down the darkened path,letting the only source of light be his guiding path.

 

_ “You won’t save him,Virgil.” _

\--

 

“Gardening?”

 

“Yeah…You said you wanted to know what I liked doing, it’s the only thing I can really think of…”

 

Deceit mumbled with embarrassment as he sat cross-legged at the table . The two had done a considerably good job at tidying up the kitchen; all the plates that were towered on top of each other were now nicely stacked away in the cupboards which were now dusted to get rid of all the cobwebs and dust from the lack of care. Patton had asked Deceit to help him reach the higher shelves when it proved to be too far for him to reach. The dark side rolled his eyes and gently lifted Patton up by the waist, noticing how light he was in his grasp. He had to quickly put Patton down,realising he might’ve been holding on for more than he liked as he cleared his throat. The tables were wiped down and the equipment Patton had brought was put away in order. All in all, it was a good job between the two as they sat together at the table with their respective drinks.

 

Deceit was fidgeting at Patton’s look of amazement at his confession.

 

“But when I asked you stared with the letter s?”

 

“Yeah well…you kind of threw me on the spot and the only other thing I could think of was my snakes. It’s not really a hobby per say but I don’t take care of my snakes and the space they inhabit.”

He grumbled shy taking a quick sip of his drink. Patton titled his head confused at why it would make him so flustered, but he just smiled happily leaning forward on his chair eagerly.

 

“So, tell me more about your gardening then!”

 

Patton asked,kicking his feet back and forth under the table as Deceit cleared his throat trying to think of how he could explain it. It honestly wasn’t anything as life changing or enjoyable as what Patton was doing but…he supposed it made him happy but trying to explain what he was doing while lying was going to be a real pain. He didn’t want to have to repeat anything to get the message clear as he rubbed his eyes,thinking. This was probably going to panic Patton, but he would just have to get over it as Deceit took his glove and let his snake that was currently under his sleeve slither up to his wrist and with permission, it sunk its teeth into his wrist to pierce the skin. Patton yelped with shock as the blood started to drip; Deceit quickly licked his wrist as he shivered,feeling the effects kick in like adrenaline as he shook his head and quickly spoke;

 

“You probably saw the potted plants in my room, didn’t you? Well…sometimes when I have nothing to do I like to collect plants and take care of them. It’s a good distraction from the stress of dealing with the other sides constant mocking and the shadows trying to pry into my life every two seconds.”

 

Patton blinked surprised and briefly tried to convert what Deceit was saying to what he thought he meant but Deceit shook his head;

 

“I’m telling the truth here Patton. While…I don’t like doing it often, if I feel like lying is too much effort all I need to do is have my snakes bite me and to lick the blood and the effects of my lying is reversed. Meaning I can now tell you the truth without having to twist my words around. It only lasts a while however.”

 

Rolling his shoulders which felt stiff from sitting, he took another sip of his drink, feeling a smirk paint his lips at Patton’s baffled expression. It was honestly cute seeing the Moral side be silent in intrigue, Deceit had cards up his sleeves too to make the other side surprised just like how he could do the same to Deceit. “Any other questions while I can speak like this?”

Patton quickly snapped out of his state and quickly nodded;

 

“Well I was wondering-“

 

“Well isn’t this interesting.”

 

Before Patton could turn to see whose voice it was, Deceit had already stood up abruptly from his chair glaring darkly as one of the sides entered the kitchen, leaning against the door with a wide grin.Patton had to take his glasses off and clean them as he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing. It was certainly a person before them, but they were more of a silhouette of a figure with only the mouth apparent as if a shadow had manifested itself above the ground. There was one glow of what looked to be an eye that glowed purple as they strolled inside taking a good look around the kitchen.

 

“Piss off Pride.”

 

“Wow such harsh words Deceit, I just wanted to say hello to our new guest, seeing as this is the second time he’s visited, and you haven’t introduced him to anyone yet.”

 

The figure referred to as pride was keeping his distance from the two of them, circling the kitchen with a stroll that screamed confidence and elegance. Patton knew he shouldn’t speak up as Deceit was gripping the table with one hand, digging his nails into the wood seething. He could feel the tension grow thick in the room as he gulped silently and shrank back nervously. Patton was lucky he had managed to avoid the other sides now- and maybe even more thankful that he didn’t run into any of them alone.

 

Though he was a bit curious…. this was a dark side. And yet they looked like the shadows that followed him in the hallways- maybe a bit more detail to his from but it was still indistinguishable. So then…why wasn’t Deceit like that?

 

“So, you cleaned up the place, I must commend your hard work, but I really doubt this will last long. You know nothing in this realm will be taken care of, sooner or later it will revert into the mess it once was. Tis a shame, I do appreciate the touch up.”

 

They hummed wiping one finger against the counter for dust but made a noise of approval when it was spotless.

 

Deceit was standing right beside Patton now, his other hand spread out in front of Patton not wanting him to interact with the side. Patton couldn’t help but feel his heart race at how close Deceit was to him right now as he slowly gripped the end of Deceits cloak keeping close to his body for protection. That made Pride chuckle as they stopped dancing around the subject and turned towards the two of them, their arms around their back as he took one step forward.

 

“I see your glove is taken off Deceit, couldn’t lie to your precious lover boy, could you?”

 

The two suddenly felt their faces flush red with embarrassment as Deceit hissed in retaliation, his snake sensing its master’s anger and started to hiss along as well, now moving to his neck ready to pounce if necessary.

 

“You know damn well I don’t give a shit about anybody, I only bit myself because I was telling him how much of a burden he was being on me and trying to twist my words arounds would’ve taken too long and you know that Pride.”

 

Patton had to bite his lip not taking the whiplash of disappointment at that response but felt something at his lap crawl up as he saw Deceit’s other snake at his lap, it had a golden coating and white eyes as it licked Patton’s wrist in a comforting motion. He felt himself sigh with reassurance that Deceit was lying to Pride right now of his own actions instead of being forced to speak lies.

 

“And cleaning the kitchen?”

 

“You think I wouldn’t pass the opportunity to get this stupid place cleaned up? There was rats in the sink for fucks sake Pride, you wouldn’t had stepped a foot in here if I didn’t convince morality to clean this place up.”

 

Clicking their tongue in disdain they sighed. “I hate that I have to agree with you there.”

While the two were glaring daggers at each other, Patton was starting to feel that same headache return.

 

No…Not now….

 

Patton thought groaning softly holding his head, the throbbing felt harsher this time round and the room was starting to spin. Something was wrong. His heart picking up its pace as he felt something drip from his mouth, confused he touched his mouth only to pale when he saw a black substance stain his hands. He felt his body shudder in fear for a moment as his thoughts started racing, maybe it was a bad idea to stay here longer than he should have- but then again, he felt it back at the light sides world so what on earth was going on, he needed to tell Deceit something was going on-

 

Or maybe it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Patton collapsed.

…..

 

…..

 

“Patton…”

 

….?

 

“Patton!”

 

Gasping for air, Patton sat up quickly, looking around the room frantically only to see Deceit and Pride were kneeling beside him. Deceit looked pale and sick with concern as Patton hazily tried to get his vision back to normal; he noticed Deceit wasn’t wearing his hat or cloak, which surprised Patton. He didn’t think he ever saw Deceit without that cloak as he was wearing some sort of jacket with collars laced down the middle. When he glanced at Pride his eyes widened as his blurry vision seemed to give an image a bit more recognisable- he looked just like-

 

“-Patton are you with us?”

 

Deceit asked shaking his arm rather franticly as Patton snapped out of it, his vision clearing as he noticed he was on the kitchen floor. The cloak was around his body like a blanket and the hat was underneath him.

 

“Tch so much for pretending you didn’t care Deceit.” Pride hummed taking note as Patton frowned seeing they were back to be a shadow once more.

 

“Oh, shut it.”

 

Deceit grumbled ignoring him and gently standing Patton back up holding a glass of water in front of him. Patton took it with shaky hands and took a sip,relaxing at the cool touch on his throat. Breathing out he shook his head. His mind felt clearer as he looked curiously at the two of them wondering what on earth happened.

 

“This is however certainly an interesting reaction. I didn’t think the mindscape would have this much effect on a light side.”

 

Pride noted walking towards the table noticing the spots of black blood now dried up. Deceit looked over at Pride frowning;

 

“Wait you don’t think-“

 

“It’s a possibility, our side of the mindscape does act differently.”

 

Patton frowned confused as he took a step forward to the table wobbling a bit as Deceit was quick to grab him by the waist to keep him upfront from slamming his head onto the table with how weak he was.

 

“A-Ah sorry, um…what are you two on about?”

 

He smiled with confusion as Pride sighed and sat down, crossing one leg on top of the other rather dramatically. Leaning on the table,taking the drink Deceit was drinking ‘which was still warm’ and took a sip. 

 

“You’re aware that in your world, if you enter someone else’s room you start to feel the effects that room provides. Well think that, but this entire mindscape is the catalyst. I have a theory- you’re starting to feel the effects of being here too long.”

 

Patton frowned, it did make sense…but-

 

“But I don’t feel evil or anything, and besides it shouldn’t be too much a problem should it? When I walk out of someone’s room I snap back to normal, so if I go back home the effects on me with just disappear wont it? So, if I just keep in mind of how long I’m staying here, I can still be myself without any risks!”

 

Deceit looked at Pride for confirmation only to get a shrug; “It's only a theory.” He mused as he stood up downing Deceit’s drink in one go and placing the cup back down. “Well if you are to keep visiting, do keep this place in order and I might be kind enough to not tell this to the others.” Strolling past the two of them, he waved dismissively, leaving the kitchen to allow the two sides sort out it between themselves. A smile soon painted his lips as he stopped outside the door, not looking in the direction but hummed.

 

“It's rude to eavesdrop, Anxiety.”

 

He turned to face Virgil, whose breath hitched, realising he was caught. Virgil was lingering behind the door where the shadows hid him. Glaring he backed up not wanting to be seen by the doors light in case the others saw him, bracing for whatever Pride might do. Pride chuckled at that and turned away walking away;

 

“Do keep an eye on Morality won't you? We don’t want something to happen to dear old Thomas because he’s acting reckless.”

 

\--

“I’m fine Dee honestly.” Patton said for the tenth time as Deceit was escorting him back to the main door that separated the two, his hat and cloak returned to him as he sighed, feeling unnerved. His effects had worn off meaning he was back to lying once more, something that Patton reassured him he didn’t mind.

 

“Maybe it's best you come here more.”

 

He spoke up which Patton pouted at putting his hands on his hips; “Are you really worried about what Pride said kiddo?”

 

Deceit opened his mouth to lie again but Patton put a finger to his lips shushing him, standing on his toes to reach his height as he gave the dark side a bright smile patting his hair gently ruffling it up. “You’re talking to morality here buster, I might seem like I’m easily swayed but I’m tougher than I look!”

 

Seeing how determined Patton looked in that moment, staring at him with a small pout on his lips Deceit couldn’t help but chuckle and ruffle his head. “I’ll see you around…Pat.”

 

Waving Patton goodbye, the large door clicked shut, cutting off the warmth that spilled from the other side. Turning around to leave Deceit was stopped when he noticed who was at the end of the hallway, his once cheerful smile turned forced and more sinister as he crossed his arms. Virgil was standing there gripping the wall, feeling his fingers slip into the inky abyss ever so faintly. Strolling up to Deceit to stand his ground, Deceit tilted his head up looking down at him curiously.

 

“What are you planning to do with Patton?”

 

Virgil growled as Deceit huffed in amusment;

 

“You assume it was I who lead him here? When Patton didn’t do it by himself.”

 

He said,taking a step towards the shorter side to stand his ground. The two glared at each other,not wavering to show their disgust towards the other. The shadows pooled at their feet, whispering amongst themselves waiting in anticipation to what the two would do. The ceiling began to drip as the walls melted slightly to allow the tides of the floor to slowly rock back and forth. The two didn’t falter however in their gaze, Virgil clenching his fist wanting to just deck Deceit in the face.

 

“Leave him alone.”

 

He growled through gritted teeth as the shadows began to feed on his negative energy radiating off him as he decided against hitting him and instead shoved him out of the way walking towards the door. Taking a deep breath, he spun around to Deceit, his eyes pleading and his breath shallow and fast as if he was trying to control the anxiety building in him; 

 

“Patton wont stop coming here, I know him. Once he decides on something he won’t back down-“

 

“-Just like how he did for you?”

 

Virgil’s anger broke as he felt his shoulders sink in realisation.  Deceit was right, Patton was doing the same thing he did when he was trying to break through Virgil’s barrier to see that there was someone out there who loved and cared for him. He was so used to being isolated from everyone that he thought it didn’t matter, that he would let the darkness in his heart swallow him up so that he couldn’t care anymore what others thought. But, like a soft glow of warmth, Patton came into his life and let Virgil open his heart once more to others….

 

And It was no doubt he was trying his very hardest for Deceit too.

 

Deceit sighed and looked to Virgil seriously; “I wish to harm Patton. He’s not like the other sides I’ve been around, there’s something about him that…draws you away from him.” He mused as he observed the floor beginning to calm down but only softly as he frowned at that; the calm before the storm.

 

Virgil sighed at that and pinched the bridge of his nose,trying to calm down. “Just…I don’t want anything to happen to him, Patton is really important to me and I can’t bear the thought of him being harmed by all of this. Pride might be ok with this but there’s no way the other sides won't jump at the chance to harm him if they get the chance…. not only that but none of us have had to deal with a light side being exposed to this realm more than they’re supposed to- it's why I kept everyone away.”

 

Deceit hummed nodding silently. He couldn’t deny Patton had managed to influence him by the time they had spent together and the thought of something bad happening to him made him feel uneasy. It made Deceit uncomfortable to consider the notion, but he knew as much as Virgil at this point that Deceit couldn’t just stroll up to the light side without the others trying to attack him, and Patton was more than happy to keep coming here despite the warnings told to him by both him and Virgil. The whole thing was a headache for sure, not only that but Deceit never brought up the situation with Thomas; a point that he should’ve said if it was not for Pride interrupting their time together. Though….it did make him think now that he thought about it;

 

What if Patton was the cause?

 

No…No he said it himself-he didn’t feel any different and Deceit hardly saw any noticeable changes in the moral side. If he was right, and just visiting for short periods of time so that he didn’t change completely would work,then maybe there was nothing to worry about. Shaking the thoughts away internally,he looked to Virgil;

 

“Will you talk Patton out of it?”

 

Virgil looked away at that.

 

“He’s dealt with a lot today, I don’t want to overwhelm him by telling what he’s doing is wrong. I’m scared- of course I fucking am and I will do anything in my power to keep him safe but…Its best for now all of us take a breather and wait. I'll speak with him tomorrow before he comes to see you…. But.”

 

Virgil reached for the door, unlocking it as it heaved open with a loud creak and the warmth flooded in as a sense of security, he looked back to Deceit glaring harshly;

 

“If you harm him in anyway, you will have hell to pay.”

 

Deceit scoffed watching him shut the door loudly, echoing through the scape as he took a deep breath and chuckled weakly. Today was honestly a lot to take in…Feeling however the two snakes snuggled in his cloak made him feel more at ease though as he gently brushed their heads comfortingly,making his way back to his room. Thoughts of Patton clinging onto him and even smiling softly played over and over in his head as he pulled his hat down to cover his face feeling his heart race. Patton honestly was an odd person…But he didn’t mind that as much anymore. Deceit was sure Patton was right, that nothing too drastic will happen…and besides, despite Virgil’s warning- he wouldn’t object too much if Patton came sneaking back here again.

 

He’d just have to make sure to keep a closer guard on him.

 

\--

 

“Ugh i’m so tired.”

 

Patton threw himself at his bed as the springs creaked and bounced by his weight. The fairy lights above him flickered back and forth between the vibrant colours as the lights dimmed, leaving only hues of gold and pink to cover the room. He reached for the nearest soft toy and pressed it against his chest,rolling onto his back to stare at the window. Today was wild- and that was putting it lightly. But…he got to get closer to Deceit and that made his heart leap for joy, knowing he liked gardening was something he took a mental note of, wondering what exciting things he could bring over next time?

 

Sighing happily, he hummed softly to himself. Despite Pride’s warning, Patton didn’t feel nervous at all. In fact, he felt great! It was if the headache he endured was nothing compared to how giddy he felt. Rolling over to his stomach he sighed softly and nuzzled the pillow against his cheek humming.

 

_ Knock _

 

Huh? Who was that at this time of night…?

 

“Come in!” Patton called out sitting up crossed legged, but the door didn’t open.

 

_ Knock _

 

“Alright I’m coming, hang on!” Hopping off the bed he walked towards the door, his shadow on the floor growing and covering the floor as he felt his heart suddenly drop with the tension; what was this feeling? The room felt like it was getting colder around him, his headache beating once more as he gripped the handle shaking his head…Whoever It was he would just tell them he was tired and wouldn’t see any visitors. All he had to do was open the door as he bit his lip and opened the door-

 

No one was there

 

_ Knock _

 

But no one was knocking, the hallway was empty…So why was the knocking so loud?

 

_ Knock _

 

Backing away, feeling his feet were glued to the floor,the room around him dimmed slowly, the fairy lights flickering on and off. The beating of the knocking echoed his heartbeat, one by one getting louder and louder drowning out all his other senses. His eyes wide as he stared at the door that creaked back and forth- no it was the wrong door. Of course, it was, he was getting this all wrong. The shadows starting to drip from the ceiling as the fear was soon replaced with a wide smile, his eyes unfocused and yet was staring at something so clear to him. suddenly this wasn’t so scary anymore, it made sense.

 

He stepped forwards into the hallway, his bare feet brushing the carpet.

 

_ Knock _

 

He just had to find the right door-

 

**_Slam._ **

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: IM SORRY FOR THE DELAY, this chapter was a beast to write, not only being the longest at 6k but also i was struggling with a writers block when i had written the first scene meaning it halted my writing to a stop for a good while. There ARE warnings for this chapter for the mentions of throwing up black blood and small amounts of violence- and a lot of angst. 
> 
> Shits going down and we’re in for a bumpy ride~

“This is terrible!”

“We know-“

“I can’t believe we let him get this bad, what kind of prince am I!?”

“Roman we know, we were there-“

“He’ll never be forgiven!”

“ROMAN.”

Logan raised his voice, closing his book shut irritably. Roman was pacing the living room back and forth, his hand currently in his locks of hair ruffling it up trying to think of a solution. Virgil was curled up on the sofa with his knees up, his head low in thought as Logan was sitting just beside him with the book he was currently reading until Roman decided to flip out.

Thomas’s problems had gotten significantly worse. Only recently did he have a falling out with his own best friend Joan; something Thomas didn’t really see the need to apologise for despite how many times Roman begged on his knees to do. The two had been working together planning video ideas when the two had a disagreement, and instead of Thomas normally trying to avoid confrontation, instead told Joan that he could easily get another writer if he needed if this was going to be that much of a hassle and that they were kicked off the team. What’s worse is Thomas casually said this as if nothing was wrong with firing his best friend and acting as they were merely an inconvenience to his channel. Joan looked heartbroken at his cruelty and had stormed off, telling him not to bother them unless it was for an apology.

Logan remembered the moment it happened, Roman’s face dropped in pure horror after biting his nails during the fight shouting for Thomas to stop and reconsider. Virgil’s anxiety was picking up, trying to breathe properly saying this wasn’t real. Even Logan felt uncomfortable at the sight, gripping the drink in his hand tightly that it almost smashed.

And Patton wasn’t there.

The moral side hadn’t left his room all day; they assumed he didn’t want the others to see how upset he was over the situation. Not only that but the entire week as well Patton kept himself distant from the others, only replying in short remarks if they ever tried to strike a conversation with him. Patton was Thomas’s heart so obviously this would be hitting him the most. No one knocked on his door either, thinking it was best to leave him alone for a while before they would come together for an emergency meeting.

So here they were, in the living room with Roman franticly shouting ideas out;

“We should send Joan a letter saying sorry- No we should send them flowers to- NO WE NEED TO GO TO THEIR HOUSE AND SING HOW MUCH OUR FRIENDSHIP MEANS TO US”

He threw his hands in the air as he turned to the others, waiting for someone to bounce ideas off him, but Virgil and Logan kept silent as Roman dropped his arms back down with a look of bewilderment.

“Come on! I’m trying my hardest here, why don’t you two contribute?”

“While apologising is certainly our utmost goal here Roman, it apparent that at this current moment, Thomas has no intentions of apologising to Joan. We cannot force his actions, only merely guide him to the right thing.”

Logan spoke up, pressing the glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he carried on;

“Furthermore, this is more in Patton’s department as Thomas’s morality. When we can get a hold of him I suggest we all talk to Thomas together.”

Virgil felt himself hug his knees tightly at that comment;he didn’t speak up during the conversation apart from a few grunts or nods in agreement. He still hadn’t confronted Patton about the day he eavesdropped him in the kitchen; a whole week had passed from that time and the gnawing feeling of anxiety ate away at him. He would try to knock on Patton’s door but never got an answer and the fairy lights above his door were turned off. The times he would see Patton in the hallways it was like he didn’t even acknowledge anyone else’s presence; he would wander for hours brushing his hand against the wall. And yet he was smiling, he was always smiling- no doubt about his progressive relationship with Deceit. How could Virgil just break that for Patton when he knew how happy the moral side was gaining a new friend.

And then the fight happened and Patton didn’t show up as much anymore in the light side.

Most likely around the time when everyone collectively felt the fear of Thomas’s actions. And yet his mind kept buzzing with uncertainty about what he overheard in that kitchen. It had to be Patton that was causing all of this- but he didn’t seem off or acted any differently when he was with Deceit and even when returning to his room with a happy whistle and a skip in his step. If only he could talk to Patton…

“Talk to Thomas about what?”

The three of them turned suddenly froze momentarily and in unison turned their heads to the door. Patton was standing there in his pyjamas looking tired, his hair in a mess and wearing a top that was larger than him, going to his knees with shorts and fluffy slippers. Virgil was quick to untangle himself from his cocoon to lean over the sofa quickly to check if Patton was alright, but Roman strolled up in front of Patton and grabbing his shoulders.

“Patton! Thank the heavens you’re doing alright, we need your help”

“But Roman, i’m all left.”

Patton hummed teasingly as Roman rolled his eyes and escorted him to where the others sat. Virgil leaned over the sofa determined to see Patton as his heart raced with uncertainty.

“So, what’s the problem then?”

Patton sat down beside Virgil, looking at the others curiously. They all looked at him with surprise as Logan quickly spoke up;

“Thomas ended up in a fight with Joan and now they’re not talking until Thomas sorts himself out. Surely you must remember this?”

“Oh! That!”

Patton exclaimed as if he had forgotten such an important event. His hands on his lap kicking his feet back and forth as he tapped his finger on his chin thinking;

“Is that really important though?”

The room went dead silent.

“…. Excuse me?” Roman spoke up as Patton cut him off waving his hand playfully;

“Listen, if Joan was going to be like that then they obviously weren’t worth the hassle. Same with Thomas’s other friend. I mean Thomas can always find new friends, can’t he?”

Virgil felt his heart sink as he leaned back on the sofa in fear. Patton had no regrets in his words, no remorse as he just looked to them with that soft smile he always kept on his face. But his eyes…they were as if looking into water, you think you can see something but it’s nothing but your own reflection staring back at you in a hollow surface. They couldn’t read his expression at all in that moment. Logan had dropped his book to the floor as Roman was just stared with his mouth wide open. No one dared to speak as Patton looked to them all confused why they suddenly got quiet.

“What?”

He laughed nervously at the tense atmosphere.

“Patton…are you serious-“

Virgil started but Roman had stormed up in front of him and grabbed his sword, drawing it out of its sheath, and pointing it at Patton. This caused a startled reaction from both Virgil and Logan,who stood up in shock; Logan was already coming up to Roman’s side grabbing his arm harshly yanking it back.

“What on Earth are you doing Roman?”

“This cannot be Patton! The Patton I know would never speak so belittlingly about the ones he cared for. This has to be a trick!”

Roman spun around to Logan upset,refusing to lower his sword as it was pointed at Patton’s neck. Virgil was starting to breathe heavily now clutching his chest, his eyes wide with fear at how fast things escalated. But Patton didn’t falter, there was no look of fear or discomfort. He just stared at the tip of the blade before him and smiled, tilting his head; he gently touched the blade, lowering it down giving Roman a knowing look. Roman flinched at that and reluctantly backed away, withdrawing his sword and getting a small hum of appreciation from Patton;

“I’m feeling fine Roman, I swear. It’s still the same Patton you know and love I just, I dunno people change I guess? Sure, Joan is precious to me, but I want to put Thomas into priority here kiddo as much as all of you do.”

He said softly looking at Roman with a twinge of desperation hoping he would understand his intentions.  Neither Virgil nor Logan could speak up in the moment, mostly taken back by the exchange as Roman let out a frustrated sigh and walked to the corner of the room leaning against the wall rubbing his eyes tiredly. It was clear Roman had barely any sleep that night; the dark bags under his eyes were apparent, the fact he had little to no time to brush himself up to look presentable spoke volumes. Virgil glanced at Roman and then back to Patton who was starting to feel awkward with how silent the others were. Logan was the first to make a move as he silently walked over to his dropped book, addressing the others;

“I suggest we take a break and gather our thoughts, everyone is too emotionally charged to discuss anything at the moment.”

Roman was the first to leave, his head held low as he didn’t want to make eye contact with the others. Logan was second but didn’t leave as fast, he put the book in one hand and turned to Patton who was sitting there in the same place looking a bit awkward with how things turned out. He opened his mouth wanting to say something to the moral side but decided against it, he didn’t want to get into a big conversation now. With that in mind he gave both Patton and Virgil a nod and left soon afterwards, leaving the two alone in the living room.

“I…Can’t help but feel like I did something wrong there…”

Patton chuckled quietly, taking his glasses off and wiping them with his top. He wasn’t expecting everyone to react so negatively, but Patton wasn’t wrong. He knew his priorities, and as Thomas’s moral side shouldn’t the others had just believed in what he felt in his heart? Leaning back on the sofa he let his head rest on the cushion.

_Knock._

Patton frowned at that, it was still loud.

He never found that door. In the span of a week Patton found himself wandering the light side for hours opening every door, thinking the sound would be closer but had no results. He even visited the dark side more to meet with Deceit, which the two had developed a stronger bond. Sometimes he saw Pride as well, they didn’t approach the two like they did that day in the kitchen. They seemed to have kept their word and never told the other sides about Patton’s visits, on the one agreement that Patton would make sure the kitchen over there would be in a respectable state when he would want to cook; an agreement Patton was more than happy to oblige to. Patton was finding himself less and less in the light side and almost considered the dark side more of a home, nights of lying in Deceit’s bed listening to the music on his phone as the two would sit there in silence sometimes. Their hands brushing together gently as Patton would sometimes just lay his head to one side to face Deceit and stare at him as he would silently work on his plants or take care of his snakes on the side. Humming gently, he closed his eyes;

He never wanted to leave.

And yet the headaches carried on, the feeling of nausea overwhelming him at times that sometimes all he could do was just lay in silence and not move around. Sometimes he would be staring at the wall, his eyes wide as if he was seeing something that no one else could, his pupils wide and frantic.  Deceit had asked if it was best for him to be here, but Patton always reassured him he was just tired after a long day with the others. But sometimes Deceit paused, wondering if he should ask Patton about Thomas; he never did however, assuming Virgil must had done so already…

Speaking of Virgil;

Patton looked to his left to see Virgil hadn’t left yet, he was hunched in his seat gripping his trouser legs tightly.

“Do you…regret what you said?”

His voice was low as he swallowed nervously looking at Patton. Patton looked at him softly and shuffled himself up to Virgil, bringing his knees up onto the sofa and grabbed Virgil’s hands softly taking them away from viciously digging into his trousers, marking the skin as he brought them close to his chest. Virgil breathed in shakingly as he closed his eyes trying to calm down, feeling comfort in how Patton’s thumb circled his wrist soothingly. Satisfied watching his friend calm down Patton leaned back softly and looked at Virgil’s lap, a sad knowing smile on his lips;

“No…but I’m sad that Roman got upset with me…”

Patton huffed softly, feeling Virgil tense up again as he tried again to cradle his hands in his own.

“Are you upset with me too Virg?”

Virgil whipped his head up to Patton frantically, wanting to tell him no, just that he was scared right now for him. But, Patton being the compassionate side that he was, already knew what Virgil was going to say from his expression alone. Sighing softly he leant forward and rested his head against Virgil’s shoulder, bringing his arms around his sides to hug the anxious side.

  
Honestly? While Patton loved his family dearly and would do anything for them, It was a bit tiring. He had only come in here to see what the commotion was, he wasn’t expecting everyone to have lost sleep over Thomas’s delima. Patton knew he was going to sort it out later, so why the others felt like that it was the end of the world baffled him. He was surprised as well that he was the one having to bring up Thomas’s priorities and not Logan himself! Not only that but seeing Roman so disheveled also brought a twinge of concern for the creative side, it was rare seeing Roman be present to the others without taking care of how he looked. It was what made Roman who he was; his appearance was everything, and yet he looked like a wreck.

He probably shouldn’t bring it up that he had no intentions of getting Thomas to contact Joan.

Regardless of that he had to take care of Virgil right now, that was his most important priority. Looking at his hands he took a deep breath and spoke up;

“Maybe your taking this too personally Virgil?”

Wait.

He didn’t mean to say that-  

“I mean, if you’re really worried about Thomas then why don’t we just get better friend’s that won’t question us? Then we won’t have to deal with this situation again.”

Or maybe….Maybe this is what he needed Virgil to hear.

“Wait…What?! Patton why would you even suggest something like that-”

Virgil slapped his hand away from Patton abruptly and started to shuffle backwards, his breathing picked up as he stared at him with fearful eyes. Patton tilted his head confused, why was Virgil acting like this? Trying to reach for his hand again,the anxious side flinched away- this was getting bothersome.

“I dont know whats gotten into you Virge, We want Thomas to be happy, so then wouldn’t this help? I don’t know why all of you are so distraught over this!”

Why wouldn’t Virgil let him help him?

Why did Roman point a sword at him.

Why did Logan look at him like he was wrong-

He wasn’t wrong. They were.

_They’re wrong, they’re wrong. **Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong-**_

**_Knock._ **

“I saw you in the dark side.”

Pattons head whipped up as Virgil spoke up, all the thoughts in his head quietening down as Virgil now sat up staring at Patton directly; “In the kitchen….Pride and Deceit, they said if you stayed there long enough you could get corrupted. I know you’ve been going there every day Patton, I…I was following you. I didn’t want you to see Deceit anymore because I knew something bad would happen but I never spoke about it until now.”

What?  
  
“You followed me?”

“Patton-”

“You don’t think I can cope on my own can you?” He stood up now, his hands shaking as he clenched them;

“You always do this don’t you? Poor Patton is too vulnerable and weak to do anything on his own! That someone else has to come and protect me!”

_**Knock** _

“Patton please that’s not what i meant-” Virgil now stood up, tears starting to streak down his cheek. Maybe Patton would’ve felt sad at that point, guilty for shouting at Virgil- but no such feelings came.

_**Knock** _

“No I know what you meant perfectly Anxiety. You look down on me just like all the others! Deceit actually makes me happy, He trusts me a hell lot more than you ever have!”

The headaches returned.

The vile feeling in his throat returning.

**_“Come look for me Patton.”_ **

He threw up.

Virgil stood in horror covering his mouth as black blood came spilling out of Patton’s mouth onto the floor- it was much more than he saw a week ago. It began pooling on the floor as Patton hacked in agony, clutching his chest and gripping onto his shirt like a lifeline as his body began to shake violently. His eyes were frantic and wide as he kept staring at the floor, tears falling from his face as the shaky sobs became loud laughter as he whipped his head back, laughing hysterically clutching his sides. Shadows started to form from each corner of the room as they slowly joined into Patton’s shadow, when he stood up the shadows spread out like vines all over the floor covering the room in a thick darkness. His balance was all over the place as he kept stepping from side to side wobbling. A sickening smile painted his lips as he kept giggling to himself quietly, his eyes were starting to turn a different colour… Instead of the light blue glow, it was a faint yellow colour starting to wash over.

Virgil watched in horror as he quickly tried to back away from all of the shadows that started to creep up on him. This was bad, this was EXTREMELY bad. Patton wasn’t going to listen to him, and if he called the others in they might be in serious danger- the darkside was starting to take its hold on Patton, and from the looks of things it was worse than he originally thought.

Patton wasn’t aware of what was around him in that moment, the only thoughts in his head was that stupid door. He needed to find it- he needed to belong. Voices kept whispering in his head one by one;

_“We’re waiting for you”_

_“You’re nearly ready to open the door Patton”_

_“Then we can be together forever”_

_“Your rooms almost ready”_

“Patton you need to stop this!”

Virgil called out desperately trying to block those voices out but only brought him trouble as Patton looked to Virgil as if he couldn’t recognise the side in front of him, his hand slowly lifting up as suddenly Virgil was forced back by a shadow that had manifested and grabbed Virgil by the neck, slamming him onto the wall behind him, his head hitting first causing a sharp pain to wash over him. The shadow wouldn’t let go of him either, his hands trying to grab onto the claws that pinned him, but every time he tried to touch the shadow his hand would phase through. His legs kicking back and forth as his fight or flight reflexes were starting to kick into overdrive- he needed to get out he couldn’t breathe-

“I-I can’t breathe…Patton please….I’m sorry….”

He cried out as Patton just stared at him, void of emotion or sympathy as he walked towards Virgil looking at him curiously. To Patton, everything was becoming fuzzy, like ripples in the water he couldn’t calm down to see the bigger picture. Virgil was barely more than a whisper in his head that couldn’t compete with the other voices. His form was barely recognisable, as if someone had decided to filter his memories of the other side. Yet…watching the other side cry made his heart ache. Something was wrong here…

“What am I…”

He murmured looking at Virgil trying to decipher what was provoking these tears that started to fall freely down his cheeks. His heart aching as he reached out to touch Virgil’s face, brushing a thumb against his cheek as it suddenly came to him-

“V-Virgil-”

His eyes widened as he suddenly snapped out of his state. The shadows suddenly retreated back into his own as Virgil fell to the floor, coughing and wheezing for air as Patton felt his legs go weak. He stepped backwards as far as he could in fear not noticing the coffee table behind him as he stacked over the side crashing his back onto the edge causing the table to tip over dropping glasses and trinkets onto the floor. And yet Patton paid no attention to the mess he made as he started to breathe heavily and quickly-

He had hurt Virgil.

Oh god he was suffocating his best friend-

What was wrong with him!?

Virgil sat up gripping his throat, his breathing finally evening out as he looked up to see Patton covering his mouth crying loudly at what he had done. Feeling his heart break Virgil tried to speak out for Patton but coughed harshly, knowing he wouldn’t be able to speak just yet with how sore his throat was. This only made Patton wail harder as he gripped his hair shaking scared curling into a ball. Determined not to let Patton suffer he crawled over reaching out for the smaller side- he needed to let Patton know it was ok, they would fix this together, that he forgave him.

But when Patton saw Virgil reach out he panicked and scrambled backwards trying to stand up;

“Virgil I’m sorry- Im so sorry- You were right there’s something wrong with me-”

He babbled out trying to control his breathing but his heart just kept thrashing in his chest as if it was to burst with fear.

He had to get out of here-

Taking the step forwards, Virgil panicked and tried to shout for Patton to stop,but the moral side already dashed out of the room into the hallway as fast as he could. Virgil’s voice was nothing more than a faded memory as he sprinted down the hallway in fear; the rooms that once brought him warmth and comfort now felt like a prison. Reminding him that he didn’t belong here anymore- he was tainted. Wrong. What the hell was going on? Nothing made sense any more, god he probably was all wrong about Thomas as well. What he told the others, how he didnt care, god no wonder they were freaked out by him. Feeling the tears fall heavily,he heaved exhausted expecting to be lost for hours running in the mindscape that no longer felt familiar to him. But as if fate was just mocking him, the door to the darkside appeared just around the corner. His heart pounding as he slowed down starting at the door, a shaky smile on his face upon seeing it.

_Home._

Hurrying inside he felt the cool embrace of the realm fill his senses as he began to calm down, only if slightly as he wiped his eyes. He needed to find Deceit right away….

Following the path he had always taken, it didn’t take long for him to find his room, the shadows followed behind Patton underneath the floorboards. They didn’t scare him this time, no..it felt reassuring to know they were present near him. They wouldn’t harm him either, he had learnt after coming to the dark realm over and over, instead they would just linger around or swim past him. Some spoke to him, like the voices in his head, telling him he wasn’t ready yet or if something interested him. Some swam ahead as a guide for Patton to find Deceit’s room as he took a shaky breath and knocked on the door.

He needed to tell Deceit what happened….

The door clicked open as Deceit peered out looking tired, his hair in a ruffled mess no doubt he had taken a nap as he was about to growl at whoever interrupted him. But when he saw Patton his expression softened momentarily only to see the tears form on Patton’s face, leaving marks behind as he opened the door fully looking concerned.

  
“Pat…? What’s wrong?”

Patton felt his heart warm up seeing Deceit in front of him; he felt safe. He needed to tell Deceit that something was wrong and he needed his help, if anyone could help him it would be the dark side….

“I don’t want to live in the light side anymore Dee, they all turned on me…Virgil started shouting at me for seeing you- that he couldn’t trust me.”

That’s not what he wanted to say-

His eyes widened when he realised what he just said to Deceit. The look of pure shock but soon seething rage filled the dark side’s expression as he gripped the door handle tightly. Patton needed to tell him he was wrong, it wasn’t them who hurt him! But soon that panicking thought was starting to be washed away once more…his mind becoming foggy as he started to forget that….

It was their fault.

“Christ ok- come in Patton…You’re not welcome here anytime.”

Deceit murmured trying to control his bitterness at the other sides as he gently led Patton inside his room and sat him on the bed, when Patton was comfortable he started to look around his room for his pet snake which was snoozing on a little basket Patton had brought him. Gently cupping the snake he brought it over to Patton knowing the moral side felt safe when he was holding one. Along with that he grabbed some blankets and sat down beside Patton, putting it around them to keep them warm as Patton leant his head against Deceit shoulder humming in appreciation. The tears slowly died down till he had a calm expression on his face. The internal struggle had faded and Patton had forgotten what he was so panicked about to warn Deceit in the first place…

“Patton…”

After a moment of silence of letting Patton calm down on Deceits side, he decided to speak up, his hands gripping the blanket as he took a deep breath.

“I don’t care about you. More than you could ever imagine. I thought I liked you, coming into my life thinking you could change me so easily. But…being with you has been horrible, something I wish I could close- guh if you wanted to…”

Feeling frustrated that all of his words were coming out as lies, he quickly put his hand towards the snake on Patton’s lap letting it bite him as he felt a shiver up his spine as the venom went in. Quickly licking the blood, he shuddered and turned around now to face Patton, touching his shoulder gently as the smaller side looked to him in anticipation. His eyes were wide and curious, staring so deeply into Deceit’s as he took a deep breath:  


“You could…stay with me?”

He whispered out as Patton’s breath hitched;

“I know though this place isn’t safe for you, so why don’t we find somewhere to go together? I don’t mind staying in the light realm with you if it’s safer-”

  
“No. I want to stay here, it’s perfect.”

The two inched closer together as they felt the world around them tune out, their heads pressed together softly as Patton gently took ahold of Deceits hand stroking it softly. Deceit chuckled softly and hummed in appreciation as he cupped Patton’s cheek gently resulting in Patton stealing a kiss from him. Deceits eyes widened at the sudden display of affection, but had no arguments as Patton broke the kiss off early, feeling flustered he did such a thing- but Deceit leant in to steal a kiss of his own, one that lasted longer… The two hugging now in an loving embrace.

Until…

_Cough! Hack!_

Patton withdrew from the kiss, coughing roughly as he tried to hold his throat for it to clear. Deceit knew very well about Patton’s coughs but what panicked him in that moment from the norm was the blood seeping from his lips.

“Patton, you’re bleeding-”

“Its alright Dee, it’s nothing serious, I just had a bad cough earlier so my throats still a little sore…”

He weakly spoke as he wiped the blood from his mouth but felt another heave sent through his chest as he started to cough up more blood that splattered into his hands. Or…if you could call it blood… It looked like the same substance the shadows would leave behind sometimes when manifesting themselves. Knowing this was a bad sign he stood up immediately taking Patton’s hands.

  
“We need to take you back, this place isn’t helping you Patton.”

Patton looked up in a panic tugging away.

“No Dee please I’m fine- I don’t want to go back.”

“But you’re coughing up blood Patton! Listen if we go back to the light realm the effects wear off right? If we stay there until you get better-”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE I AM!”

  
Patton shouted slapping his hand away as he stood up glaring angrily. His eyes starting to wash over to that yellow gaze once more.

“It doesn’t matter which realm im in, i’m still having headaches, i’m still coughing my lungs up Deceit. Don’t you get it?  _I’m being rejected and the only place i should be right now is in that stupid room_!”

“Room? Patton what room-”

_**Knock** _

Oh god it was coming back….Clutching his head, Patton whined, feeling his head feel like it was splitting apart. Wobbling he fell back onto the bed curling up feeling the pain take over. His body was rejecting him. It was trying to kill the good in him…. Tearing up he shook his head trying to erase the corrupting thoughts taking over but the voices were so loud.

Deceit panicked at the sight as he wasn’t sure what to even do- How the hell did he not notice how bad Patton was getting. Unless. The mindscape wanted everyone to feel like Patton was doing alright. Frantically looking around, he knew the Shadows were at his door now, they wanted Patton. God how did he not notice what was going on-

“Patton you need to block those voices out, they’re trying to turn you into a dark side, you need to get out of here before it’s too late-”

**_“Your room’s ready Patton.”_ **

The crying suddenly stopped as Patton let his arms fall to his side as he looked back up, his expression of pain and torment became one of relief and happiness. Deceit felt a shiver down his spine knowing that Patton wasn’t paying attention to him anymore.

Suddenly the door burst open as a wave of darkness started to pour into the room, the illuminated floor started to crack as something was trying to break out. Knowing they had to get out of there Deceit tried to run for Patton to reach for him but was thrown backwards by the shadows. One walked towards Patton with a hand outstretched to escort him out.

Like hell they would!  


Kicking back the beasts, he whistled for one of his snakes that was lazing around the window still to jump and attack one of the shadows nearest to Patton. While it worked momentarily, its teeth sinking into the figure, the snake found self in contact with the shadows fist as it was thrown backwards onto the window. But it was persistent, knowing it couldn’t defeat the shadows that now surrounded Patton, it jumped and slithered its way as fast as it could to Pattons leg and wrapped itself around his foot to make sure it wouldn’t lose Patton.

Meanwhile Deceit was throwing punches at any shadow that tried to approach him with the intentions of knocking him out, his voice raw from screaming at them to get away from Patton but ultimately he couldn’t get anywhere near him…There was too many and they were insistent;

_“Why are you getting in our way Deceit?”_

_“Wouldn’t you be happy? Morality gets to finally join us as a dark side, he won’t have to leave you anymore”_

_“You got exactly what you wanted.”_

No…No this isn’t what he wanted!

Feeling a sharp pain in his face after being punched and tripped up by another shadow, he fell down, feeling them kick him one after the other refusing to let him stand up. Some shadows merged from the floor to grab his wrists and legs to stop him from moving as he thrashed in anger wanting to be free. He could see in the corner of his eyes Patton starting to move now with the shadows, following with a look of content in his face- yet his eyes…That would make him feel lost in such love and warmth was void…they held no real expression. And yet Patton was smiling following them as if he was in some sort of dream like state.

Deceit felt his heart ache. What did he want? At first he wanted to make Patton hate him, to stop trying to touch his heart with hopes of making him a better person. Deceit was always content with being alone, he didn’t need anyone to like him. But Patton never forced anything on Deceit, he didn’t look at him with pity but rather was happy to be around the dark side. Maybe a part of Deceit knew actually…that something like this would’ve happened. Pride and Virgil had warned him. He could’ve solved this if he just decided that it was better to stay with Patton in the light side, but he didn’t…he selfishly let Patton keep coming day after day because he couldn’t give up what they had…

“Patton… I’m sorry…Im so so sorry…”

He weakly called out but felt another sharp pain as he felt another blow to the stomach this time catching the air from his throat as he felt his vision starting to blur, black spots appearing as his head spun feeling queasy. Patton had not paid attention to Deceit either, being lead calmly by the shadows into the hallway as Deceit tried again to get back up but found no strength.

Fear however washed over him as he knew what was coming. Beneath the glass floor something pounded against the surface over and over creating tidal waves that raged beneath them the walls around them shaking as the eyes all started to look into the center with anticipation, the glass cracking as Patton was lead to the centre just above the shadow. Turning around in that split second Patton looked to Deceit with a soft smile and mouthed something Deceit couldn’t hear over the own screams of his voice as he tried to reach out.

The glass below patton shattered and what rose from the water looked like leviathan itself had manifested itself into the darksiders mindscape, screeching loudly causing any glass around them to shatter violently as it grabbed Patton with its large hand dragging him underwater in less than a second.

_“Wait for me Dee.”_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SLAM DUNKS IN. Im so sorry this took forever to update, especially with the cliffhanger i left off on chapter 5 wopes! The good news is chapter 7 is underway and being written so hopefully I wont leave you all waiting so long next time (i h o p e) The only warning this chapter is small mentions of body horror but very mild. 
> 
> Now, on with the story~!

“Ow! Logan, I can't be sitting around here we need to- Gah!”

 

Virgil whined, struggling in Logan's grip. It was only a while ago that Logan and Roman had come into the living room with the curiosity of all the shouting and banging, only to panic at the sight of Virgil laying on the floor groaning in pain. He kept mumbling under his breath about Patton but had no energy to sit up as his arms would cave in under the weight of his body, bruises formed at his arms and neck. Roman was the first to rush into action; gently lifting Virgil up he carried him to the nearest sofa that wasn't damaged in the crossfire. 

 

Logan bit his lip,trying to focus on helping Virgil, but he was getting frustrated with how much the anxious side was moving about. Every two seconds he would stand up ready to run away but with little to no strength completely forgetting that Logan was trying to help in the first place, yet it was fairly easy for Logan to tug him back down. Roman was sitting beside the two looking panicked; Virgil wasn't making any sense and they had no what happened to Patton or where he was. The only thing that was coherent from Virgil was that Patton was in deep trouble and something about shadows, but he was speaking too fast for them to try and decipher. His eyes moving around frantically in fear frustrated that they wouldn't let him go. 

 

“Virgil please, I cannot tend to your wounds if you move around so frequently. Take a deep breath and then tell us what the matter is.”

 

Logan sternly commanded, grabbing his shoulders firmly and turning Virgil around to face him. Prompting him to breathe in and out with him in hopes that Virgil would calm down. It took a few turns before Virgil's shoulders finally slouched in defeat as he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. 

 

“Im sorry….I’m just so worried for Patton.” He mumbled in short breaths. 

 

“You still have not told us what happened to him-ah! In full detail I mean Virgil, we could not make sense of your ramblings earlier on.”

 

Virgil huffed at that and crossed his arms, hissing in pain as Logan gently wrapped a bandage around his left arm. There were some scrapes as well that had bled a bit. Logan knew it was more effective to treat those as well, even if they were minor to the rest since he did not want Virgil to potentially get an infection. Virgil was silently watching Logan focus before speaking up as he sighed and took a deep breath;

 

“Ok so-”

 

But before Virgil could explain, the door to the living room was thrusted open with a force that startled the others into bracing themselves for action. Roman was already standing up, stumbling for balance as he grabbed his sword in defense. Logan had stood up immediately in front of Virgil for protection if it happened to be the shadows back again for more. Virgil had fallen off of the sofa in shock but quickly peered over the edge only to frown when he saw who bursted in.

 

“I mean harm!”

Deceit.

 

“No ok that sounded wrong-”

 

Roman had gasped in offense over Deceits declaration and was now posed with confidence to strike the dark side down. However Logan and Virgil knew very well Deceit was lying per the norm and had meant to say he meant no harm to the others, but with the timing and how he shouted it with such intensity really the situation almost comical if it weren't for pressing matters.

 

“Roman n- Roman he’s lying, put your sword away.”

 

Virgil grumbled rubbing his eyes as he stood up only to wobble slightly and have to grip to the edge of the sofa for support as he glared at Deceit. Roman was reluctant, but he did as he was told and withdrew his sword from the side,putting it back in its sheath. However he made sure to stroll straight over to Virgil and Logan, not trusting Deceit for a split second as he tapped his foot impatiently;

 

“Can someone PLEASE tell me what's going on here? Why is HE here?”

 

Virgil lifted a hand to Roman motioning to him to be quiet for a second as he took a deep breath; he looked to Deceit with a cautious glare but knew the other side at this point did care for Patton that if he was here alone, something bad happened. That meant telling the other two however….

 

“Patton's been...going to the darksiders mindscape for a while now, Patton wanted to get closer with Deceit so he went behind our backs. But because he was in there for too long, its started to mess with his mind and that's what caused him to lash out at me today.”

 

He flinched a bit at Romans sudden inhale of breath, even Logan did a double take at Virgil, looking now at him and Deceit skeptically.

 

“And where IS Patton now?”

 

That was Deceits turn to now speak up as they all looked to him expectantly. His body lowering in regret, feeling ashamed. Virgil however could pick up that Deceit had the same wounds he did, if not maybe worse from how he wobbled sometimes in one spot. That put a pit in Virgil's stomach, Patton must’ve lost it again….

 

“He wasn't taken by the beast that dwells below the mindscapes floors. I didn't fight back, There was no point...”

 

Suddenly he saw the anxious side dart over to him grabbing him by the shoulders, ignoring his own injuries and looked up at Deceit with a frantic look that mirrored how he felt inside as he gulped silently watching the panic rise in Virgil's form; “N-No, you’re lying right now...No No- when was this!? We have to get him out of there right now!”

Logan noticed Virgil's breathing pick up significantly as he quickly came up to the two of them, placing a hand on Virgil's that gripped Deceits cloak ferociously shaking it in his grip. When Virgil let go he dropped to one knee feeling sick with fear and dread. His mind was clouding with panic as he grabbed the fabric against his chest rising up and down quicker and quicker. 

  
Deceit looked helpless not knowing how to help him as he stood in fear of making things worse. Logan was already going down to Virgil’s side and took his hands in his and started follow the step by step breathing process. Mumbling to him he was doing a good job as Virgil whimpered feeling the tears fall pour down his face onto his lap.

 

When he felt Virgil could contain a consistent breathing pattern he looked up to Deceit;

“You’re going to have to explain to us what this means, I am afraid Virgil keeps the dark side hidden for rather good reasons due to his own experiences. What is the repercussions of this supposed beast taking Patton?”

 

Deceit shakingly nodded, glad that Logan was not shouting at him or looking at him like it was his fault. He couldn't say the same for Roman, however, as he could see the taller side slowly come up to Virgil lowering himself down to hug him from behind to keep him distracted by stroking his hair softly, yet he kept his gaze at Deceit wearily wanting to know as much as Logan what this meant for Patton.

 

Squeezing his hands tightly and releasing to let go some of the tension he tried his best to explain this the best way he could, he had left one of his snakes back in his room and the other was currently with Patton so he sadly couldn't speak without telling lies but he would have to try his best. 

 

“Our mindscape _ works the same as yours _ , the place where all of Thomas’s deepest and repressed emotions go. Because _ there isn't so much  _ negative energy festered in that realm, it became alive. A terrifying creature was created, below the grounds of the dark realm where a deeper level lies that no side can go in unless they don't want to lose their very minds. Anyone whose dragged under there will immediately be changed to fit the world and will be trapped there forever. The very walls breathe and you’re always being watched by the very beast that roams the lower parts of the realm where _ there is  _ sense of reason and rhyme.”

 

He swallowed nervously letting that first sink in watching the two other sides look almost disturbed and frightened by these news;

  
“Wait a moment, the dark side’s mindscape is a living breathing monster?!”

 

Roman looked up, a sudden fear now washing over him at the very thought but he looked down to see Virgil tug at Logan and Roman. He had calmed down a bit but his body was still shaking;

 

“He’s right... There's two levels to that world. T-The one above is where Deceit and the other sides reside, but below is nothing but a dark sea of corruption and repressed memories that Thomas wanted to lock up forever. If Patton's been dragged down there, he’s at the core of all of it, they won't let him go...not until they’ve changed him completely.” His knuckles whitened at how hard he had his hands clenched against Logan’s; “That's what the realm does, it hunts on prey that enters its realm that doesn't belong there...it will follow you, corrupt you ever so slowly until your ready to be dragged down...I didn't tell any of you because there was always a fear that you guys might’ve went in there in hopes to stop that thing….But Patton he-”

 

“He didn't go in there for me.”

 

Deceit continued looking weary and tired. His heart aching over how he could let this happen, the ghost of Patton's lingering touch still haunted him. How his hands felt so perfect in place with Deceits. The shadow of a faint warmth on his lips from when the two kissed. God he loved Patton, he missed him so much that he didn't care that he ran straight to the light sides realm in hopes they would save Patton. Just thinking of how alone Patton was right now with those monsters tugged his heart painfully.

No side before had been corrupted, or well not when Deceit first opened his eyes to this realm. The dark sides were different, when one would be created they just laid, soaking wet on the glass floor as if they submerged from the very waters themselves, they would know in that moment exactly what their role was and where to go. For awhile they would not have a corporal body, Deceit remembered when he woke up to see he was indistinguishable apart from the scales that littered his face. And yet that felt completely normal to him. Until the day Thomas’s learnt of his existence did he start to slowly see his real body, the cloak that wrapped around his body, his hair that tufted above his face, he suddenly had an identity he was not aware he even had…

 

Not all the sides however were as lucky as he was; he had learnt rather fast after that point that no one could see their true forms until they were brought into the ‘light’. How poetic. Yet...A light side to turn into a darkside was still something he had not witnessed, but the implications unnerved him deeply. Shaking his head he looked to them urgently;

 

“Please...I don't want you guys to come with me.”

 

Roman made a noise of hesitation but saw that Virgil was already standing up trying to compose himself along with Logan who thought for a moment but nodded; “If Patton truly is in the core of all those negative feelings, there's no doubt this is also the cause of Thomas’s destructive tendencies, and if this was to carry on, there's no doubt we’ll be putting the whole system in danger.”

 

With a nod from the three of them, eager to go into the darkside. They all looked to Roman who looked flustered by the whole situation but took a deep breath and adopted his heroic persona. 

 

“Well. What are we waiting for? Lead the way.”

 

\--

Drip….

 

Drip…

 

“Mmn…?”

 

Patton mumbled opening his eyes, everything felt...heavy around him. His face was pressed against the floor as he could barely feel the energy to sit up. Still drifting in and out of consciousness,Patton slowly tilted his head around to see where on earth he was. He remembered the shadows taking him and everything becoming a blur when that monster grabbed him-

 

Oh god he was taken.

 

Patton tried to sit up but felt his body fight against his struggles as he fell back down on the floor with a small splash. Staring at the ceiling he could see he was in a small room covered in the same black substance the shadows inherited, it was running from the ceiling pouring down like a waterfall, and yet it would never flood the place. His body was drenched in the inky matter however, the back of his head washed in it as he couldn't help but feel….calm.

 

Like maybe this was not bad…

 

He fell asleep once more…

 

….

 

The second time he woke up,he noticed he was no longer on the floor but rather was now in a rather large cushioned throne. A long table stretched out in front of him with chairs such as his own, all of them had name tags engraved on the top of each of them. From a quick glance, he noticed these were the names of all the dark-siders that dwelled in this mindscape. However they did not sit there, the shadows of monsters did, each looking right at Patton. Some had eyes that completely covered their entire bodies, blinking in unison; some only had mouths that grinned with delight. Some were covered completely in darkness with no distinguishable traits. 

 

_ “Hello Patton.” _

 

_ “We’re so glad you’re awake!” _

 

They exclaimed happily, their voices all overlapped each others in a collective hivemind that it was difficult to pinpoint which was speaking to him individually.  Patton grumbled rubbing his eyes tiredly wearily looking at them; 

 

“Whats...going on…?”

 

They all started to chuckle to themselves.

 

_ “You’re finally here, In the depths of the darkscape.” _

_ “Your new home.” _

 

_ “Anything you want can happen here Patton, as long as you stay here forever with us.” _ __   
  


_ “All you gotta do is think of it and it’ll happen!” _

 

“Ummm ok….I guess I’d like a blanket really, it's rather cold in here-”

 

Before he could finish his sentence the inky substance formed in his lap taking on the shape of the blanket he had wished for; it felt warm to touch and was incredibly soft and Patton couldn't help but beam with a new found excitement as he quickly looked at the table. It was awfully empty, that couldn't do…With a concentrated thought, he managed to summon a table cloth that was colourful and patterned with spots to cover the table, on top was plates of sweets and cakes that he had enjoyed himself. 

 

“Wow! This is amazing!”

 

The shadows looked content with Patton's joy;

  
_ “In your room whatever you want can happen, and we will be here if you ever need us.” _

 

Patton hadn't really paid any attention as he hopped up from the chair and traced his hand on the table grabbing some sweets humming to himself as he took a bite melting with delight over how good they were. He wasn't even sure what he was so upset about earlier, this room was perfect! Heck he couldn't even remember anything outside of this place… However, when he happily walked around inspecting the room, he looked back to his chair with a frown; on the top of the chair was the name ‘morality’. With a small thought he was able to get the name scratched out as he clapped his hands together with a satisfied grin. There was no need for that title anymore, not here anyway. 

 

Heck, he was bored with what he was wearing as well! With a snap of his fingers the shadows pooled around his feet and started to cover him as he closed his eyes content letting himself be changed by the darkness.

 

It was time for a change.

 

\--

 

Deceit had managed to lead the others safely through the dark realm to the same hallway Patton had been taken away. Virgil was walking beside Deceit keeping up with his pace, feeling himself almost rush with impatience; Logan was just behind,keeping close to them looking around the area feeling a air of unease just from being there… And Roman lingered behind as protection if anyone decided to catch them from behind, his sword was ready and drawn, marching onwards making sure to keep an eye of everything around him expect for what was behind him. The rule was that everyone had to cling onto each other with Deceit as the lead- that way if one of them did turn backwards, they wouldn't be teleported back to the start and ultimately get lost from the others.

 

Roman faltered a bit and looked at Virgil and Deceit; “When you say Patton’s changed...how drastic are we talking here, if we find him will he even want to come back with us?” He asked feeling bad for feeling them both look suddenly ashamed and tense, but he just couldn't...wrap his head around the idea that Patton, the softest of all of them, was influenced by the darkscape. Heck, when Patton had told the others he didn't care about Thomas’s situation so casually as if there was nothing wrong had made him feel sick to the core. It was wrong...He was certain as well from the glances at Logan that he also felt unsettled and worried. They all wanted to get Patton back as soon as possible, but there was this underlying fear that Patton might turn around and say he liked this place better due to his mind being corrupted. What if they were too late and Patton never saw them with the same kindness and love he used to radiate- No...It didn't matter, he just wanted his friend back. It was clear that the others felt the way as Deceit clenched his fist tightly with a strong resolve in his eyes looking forward; 

 

“When we find him, he’ll be completely the same and will most likely come willingly with us...but we don’t need to try. For Patton. He wouldn't do the same for any of us…..or me.” He muttered that last part under his breath but it made Romans’ view on the dark side soften considerably that Patton had managed to touch his heart like he did with the other. Deceit was right as well, Patton would drop everything despite the risks for any of them without question, he loved them all unconditionally that thinking of a life without him by their side felt….empty.

 

“Patton is strong, I know that no matter what hardships we might face down there, we will do it together and bring him back safe and sound.”

 

Logan spoke up now, he had kept silent throughout the conversation but the way his eyes lit up with a form of hope, knowing that he also had a deep appreciation and respect for the moral side was comforting for everyone to know they were on the same page. Virgil couldn't help but feel himself relax and smile softly at the others with a fond appreciation. If he had gone on his own he didn’t think he’d stand much of a chance to save Patton but with everyone here….

 

He felt like they could do anything.

 

\--

It took them awhile till they finally arrived Deceit as made a small ‘ah’ noise as he crossed his arms puzzled.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

Virgil asked looking around confused as Deceit pointed at the floor in front of him. “That wasn't broken the last time I was here.”

 

The gaping hole that Deceit had managed to jump across when coming to find the others was nothing more now but a memory, there was no shattered glass anywhere and the floor was once again back in the state it once was before the whole mess. Walking over to the floor he gave it a small kick wondering if the floor might have still been fragile enough to break, however after a few thuds it was looking as if it would take a lot more than that to get through… 

 

It wasn't long to notice what Deceit was trying to do as he nodded and walked over starting to kick the floor as well as hard as he could. Honestly it looked stupid what the two were doing as Roman and Logan looked to each other confused;

 

“Um...Virgil, why are you and Deceit banging on the floor like that?”

 

“This….Is…..Where….Patton...is…! We...Need...to...Break...The….Goddamn...Floor!”

 

Virgil grunted with each kick.

 

Roman, understanding what must be done rolled his sleeves up and tried to punch the floor as strong as he could, the floor vibrating a tiny bit upon the pressure but nothing that as noteworthy as a crack appeared. So the three of them tried to sync their attempts together, the water under the floor splashed and shook at the vibrations. Logan was worried that their attempts might’ve been attracting unwanted behavior as he kept seeing things swim from underneath them, their shadows passing fast yet would circle around where they kept banging. 

 

“Wait. I don't have an idea.”

 

Deceit sprinted ahead to his room.

 

When he came back Virgil looked bemused and slightly impressed at what Deceit was dragging behind him.

 

“Dude, where did you get that jackhammer from?”

 

“I dont keep weapons in my room as a precaution.”

  
He grunted as he lifted the hammer up and started to slam it against the floor which vibrated the ground underneath them, this of course wasn't going by unnoticed as some of the shadows started to peer from the walls, their heads sticking out in curiosity. Roman was more than ready to attack them but...they just stared, if anything some of them looked amused? Deceit and Virgil weren't paying attention to them however as they kept banging away at the floor, a small crack appearing as it seemed to be working.

 

Roman was just staring at one of the shadows that had only eyes apparent on their body as they just stared back with a small glint in their eyes;

 

_ “Will you be joining us soon Roman?” _

 

“Stop that. I doubt you’d find much use for him anyway.”

 

A voice came from behind him as Roman yelped in alarm not expecting someone else to actually show up as he pointed his sword up at the stranger. However with the blade pointed firmly at the intruders next, they merely sighed and looked offended at such an action as they pressed their finger on the top of the blade and gently lifting it down. “I'm here to see what the commotion is, let's not get into a fight shall we?” 

 

Logan had taken interest as well as he quickly tugged Deceit who looked up in caution and was already lifting his jackhammer ready to swing it full force at whoever it was, but the moment he had lifted it in the air, the figure had already withdrawn their own sword from the inky abyss of their body towards the hammer.  Deceit’s breath hitched as he got a good look at the figure before them as he sighed and lowered the hammer;

 

“What do you want Pride? We’re not busy.”

 

“Clearly. Banging on the floor with a hammer and your fists is certainly something that wouldn't draw anyone's attention at this point, I would be saying could you knock it off but i'm aware of Patton's situation.”

 

Pride muttered in distaste at the thought; “To think, the leviathan itself would take Patton itself, Morality certainly is an interesting one.”

 

“I don't mean to interrupt this chat…”

  
Logan coughed ,getting the attention of both dark sides.They turned to the intellectual side who was looking rather skeptical and confused towards Pride. “Deceit how do you know this is another side, they look exactly the same as the other shadows in this realm.”

 

Pride fake gasped holding a hand to their chest; “Now, that's not how to treat an ally, now is it Logic?”

 

Virgil huffed, still kicking at the ground to make the gap bigger.

 

“Logan, whatever Thomas sees, we see. Because Deceit appeared in front of Thomas, he adopted an appearance. Pride technically can see themself in a reflection and for them they’re perfectly normal, but because Thomas hasn't discovered them yet, they have to take the form of one of the shadows here.”

 

Pride nodded but crossed their arms in a bit of a huff; “Yes but don't be mistaken, the shadows here are not their own separate identities, they are all a collective hive mind of the dark realms subconsciousness. I’d rather die than be associated to those parasites.”

 

It was...quite a lot for one day Logan had to admit with all the information but it made sense, the shadows that surrounded them all seemed to move in unison, even if some had different features to their inky vessels. No doubt it was the mindscapes way of monitoring what was happening. It was unnerving however to see it so complacent with their attempts to break in...maybe it was all just a game to them, or something more sinister….

 

CRACK…

 

The floor began to splinter and crack as Pride hummed taking a step back. “Do get Patton back will you? Someone has to clean that kitchen up for me.” They waved nonchalantly as Roman looked up at them skeptically, something was really rubbing him off about them…Pride had noticed Romans disdain and couldn't help but hum in amusement as he gave Roman a thumbs up;

 

“I’ll be seeing you soon Roman. By the way, nice sword, too bad its not as good as mine”

 

“Ok now see here you little sh-”

 

_ SMASH _

 

The floor broke way beneath them as they all fell into the deep depths of the water, their senses submerged completely as the reflection of Pride waving at them from above was soon a blurr leaving them in total darkness.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I am SOO sorry for the delay on this one, long story short i had a nail infection which destroyed my hand and put me under a lot of pain, on top of that was just life coming at me at full force. To make it up I’ve made this chapter another long one to get to the juicy stuff as there’s a lot to go through~ Enjoy!

Deceit had to admit, he thought he had seen it all. Living in a mindscape that literally monitored not only his, but Virgil’s life, as if it was some game was something he had grown accustomed to. He thought he couldn’t be chilled by anything because he was already living in a place of horrors.

 

He was dead wrong.

 

This definitely wasnt something Deceit ever thought he’d have to experience himself. Utter darkness. Or well, he could assume he was underwater because everytime he tries to take in a breath of air hes choking from the thick liquid that clogs his throat. Thank god they couldn't actually die, because he knew if he was in this matter for too long he might’ve passed out from a lack of oxygen. Looking around hazily, he tried to make sense of where on earth he was, but with the wind impacting against his body and the rapid fall down, he couldn't really make sense of where on earth they were- just that it felt wrong.

  
It was like all the warmth was drained from his body, no- his soul. As if the water itself was purging him away from all emotions, draining him slowly, taking away what made him who he was to be just a mere shell. That freaked him out as he thrashed his legs, trying to see if he could perhaps try to swim up at least; but the current that was dragging him down was heavy enough that he struggled to even lift one arm up above him. 

God, what if he never got out of here? No, No he had to find Patton, Patton needed him. Like hell he was going to lose his way before he found him.

 

But the light in his eyes was slowly fading...

 

Were the others still nearby?

 

Looking up, he squinted to see if they were falling nearby, but whatever was clouding the entire place was making it extremely difficult. Part of him feared that maybe that this was it, just a suffocating void with no light or sound; just his heartbeat that reminded him he was real with each thump. Closing his eyes he bit his lip and hugged himself tightly as he curled up.

 

He had to focus…

 

He needed to imagine those soft blue eyes.

 

Just as Deceit was beginning to assume there would never be an end to his fall, he saw something glow from under him. It opened up cutting through the darkness to show jagged teeth each lined up with a green glow as the centre seemed to be a portal to what appeared to be a room. His heart raced, squinting he could see some people were already there; no doubt it was the others as he gulped nervously and dove straight into the jaws of the portal, closing his eyes not wanting to see the impact.

 

THUD

 

His body crashed onto the ground as he finally took a deep breath of air. His eyes snapped open as he held his throat, coughing up whatever remained of the water he had swallowed as he rolled on his side shaking. Deceit hadn't even noticed Virgil was by his side, shaking him slightly and trying to get his attention as he tried to blink the tears from his eyes. He felt his own soul was trying to rip out of his body. When he felt Virgil’s warm hands on his shoulders he almost cried with relief that he was still here. 

 

“Christ...You were in there for quite some time Deceit…”

 

Virgil’s voice was muffled at first for him as he turned his head around, trying to slowly pick up his senses which felt drowned out by the white noise ringing in his skull. How long was he in the water for…? Trying to gather his strength,he slowly lifted his chest up to see Roman and Logan were right behind Virgil peering over looking concerned. He knew Roman was trying to say something but right now he needed to focus on getting the vile water out of his system as he leant forward and coughed more, letting the black goop drip from his mouth and even from the tears that dripped from his face as he shivered immensely. His senses were slowly coming back to him as he could finally speak up, wiping the drool from his mouth.

 

“How...Long…?”

 

“Logan thinks probably two hours. Roman got here first with half an hour, Logan was just behind but you and I spent longer in there, most likely because we’ve come from here so the mindscape had a better control over us than the others. I was in there for an hour at best but we were worried that you might not have found a way out.”

 

Virgil explained, helping Deceit to his feet as he stumbled a bit and rubbed his head. When he looked around properly around the room he was intrigued to see it didn't really have a solid structure. If anything the room was coated in a dark liquid that encased the area in a sphere, when walking outside however there was a series of staircases that came from every direction, some leading in a forward path from where they were, but some came from high above and twisted around in ways Deceit wasn't sure that they could walk on-if gravity was a thing that existed like it did back home. Doors floated around everywhere also, some that he doubt they could make it up to unless they found some sort of ladder, and creatures swam by that looked...unsettling if you took a closer look at them. 

 

“We’ve managed to scout out a bit of the area and it seems while everything is rather disjointed, there seems to be a theme that these staircases follow to that could help us find Patton...However.” Logan started holding his arms close together in thought as the ground shook rather aggressively. Deceit looked above to see the beast itself swim by, its shadow encasing the entire area in darkness but the doors illuminated with what looked like patterns on the top of the doors with symbols that faded once the lingering shadow was gone. 

 

“It's hard to try and remember which door leads where when the only time we can get a look at the symbols is if a large shadow covers the area, which, at this point is the beast itself.”

 

Roman huffed reluctantly. 

 

“And I’m not so sure we want to be attracting that beast straight for us.”

 

Gaining his own strength, Deceit walked out to the staircase before them. He had seen a symbol momentarily in the darkness and he knew where to bend down and touch the floor. Feeling around the ground, he was hoping to maybe brush over any bumps or dents to indicate where the symbol may be. His finger finally tracing on what felt as something smooth compared to the cold jagged floor as he pressed his finger down allowing the symbol to light up on its own. Adjacent to that, a symbol much further on lit up above a door for a brief second before fading away again.

 

“I see. So our goal is to follow whichever symbols correlate with each other.” 

 

Logan commented in thought taking a few steps up to look ahead of them at the door that lit up. Annoyingly while it was a good start, the door itself was, well- It wasn't near a staircase. In fact, it was annoyingly close enough to see, but certainly not enough that they could jump for it. Deceit however wasn't paying that much attention as he felt the ground this time for something else just below the first step and looking at the door in thought. Once he was satisfied, he started to walk up the stairs and across the hallway towards the lit up door, Virgil following just behind along with the others in tow wondering what the side was up to. 

 

“You’re honestly not going to jump are you?”

 

Virgil hissed at him,trying to tug his arm back. Deceit rolled his eyes. “Do you have something I can throw?”

 

“Throw? Uh…” Virgil inquired looking through his own pockets while the others decided to do the same just in case. When all looked grim as each one of them turned their pockets inside out with no results, Deceit looked towards Romans sword, still resting in its sheath. 

 

“Your sword, don't give it to me. I won't give it back.”

 

Reluctantly Roman handed it over as Deceit turned to Logan next; “Don't go to where I touched that symbol, and don’t touch it on the count of my mark.”

 

Logan nodded and hurried back down the steps; “Ready when you are!” He called out as Deceit nodded and took the sword, stretching his arm back and positioning it where the symbol on the door should be. Roman was quick to protest at the implications of what Deceit was about to do but before he could complain Deceit had chucked his sword dead on towards the door and yelled; “NOW”

 

With both the press from Logan, and the sword’s tip stabbing straight into the mark on the door, both symbols lit up together. 

 

Suddenly the ground began to shift below them and they all tried to keep their balances as the platform beneath them was starting to move and twist into new directions. And thankfully for them, the pathway soon connected itself straight to the door they needed. 

 

“Huh...That was pretty clever, how did you know that would happen?” Virgil asked, talking a few cautious steps towards the door; “The ground doesn't have small mechanisms just at the edges where they distort.” 

 

Whistling impressed, Virgil trailed behind Deceit as he watched the taller side give the door a small nudge. It creaked open to show a long stretching path that would have been surrounded in complete darkness, if it wasn’t for the ceiling illuminating the path in the same bright blue transparent glass the sides saw back up in the dark realm. Roman had managed to recover his sword from the wall; as the ground outside the door shifted and turned again, he quickly jumped in and let the door slam behind him. Knowing that their only path now was onwards, they resumed their orderly line, keeping an eye out for anything in the walls that might jump out at them. The floor had a small layer of thick black liquid that made walking normally a challenge. 

 

For a while, no other doors seemed to appear in their path. Not only that but it honestly felt like they were walking on forever with no end.

 

“This can't be right…What if it's another puzzle we have to solve?” Virgil spoke up as he looked behind him to see if they had made any real progress- which, to their disappointment, and conformation on Virgil’s theory, they barely had walked that far at all despite the passage of time. 

 

“So it appears we are in a never ending hallway.” Logan murmured in thought looking around for anything that might be a clue. But it was rather hard when everything around them was barely distinguishable from how pitch black everything was, the only thing that could even help them was-

 

Oh.

 

Logan looked up to the ceiling and hummed in confirmation. “I thought as much, take a look at this.” The others looked up in confusion to what Logan was getting at, the ceiling was only a watery mirror of where they were standing...and yet-

 

“Oh! On the reflection! I can see doors!” Roman called out.

 

And true to his words, the hallway that looked empty at first glance, was filled with doors on each side on the reflections gaze. Each had a symbol just like the ones before on top of each door.

 

“Ok...but then how are we supposed to know which one will lead us to Patton? There's so many doors here that it could take us hours before we even found a way…” Virgil murmured looking up at each of the doors trying to think if there was any clues to which one was the right one. They couldn't just check every door individually, there had to be at least 50 all together in the long stretch of the hallway.

  
Deceit was silently looking at each of the patterns. It was clear that he needed to potentially find one that matched the symbols outside. But Virgil was right, there wasn't that much information they could go off on to know which symbol was the right one...Things weren't looking too good…

 

While they were all deep in thought, the entire room started to shake rather violently as the ceiling above rippled. No doubt the Leviathan was swimming overhead once more, and from the sound of the growling, it was definitely closer than before. While the rumbling was happening, it was causing the room to go pitch black leaving the sides helpless, clinging onto whatever they could for support. Virgil had tried to reach out for the wall beside him but slipped up, hitting his back against the ground. Groaning in pain he looked up only for his eyes to widen in hope.

 

“There's a light coming from one of the doors!”

 

He pointed frantically. While it was true they were in pure darkness, there was a soft glowing light reflecting in the ceiling’s surface from one of the doors. Keeping this eyes locked on the glowing light, he waited for the lights to come back on. Eventually the monster was gone and the glowing light of the ceiling flickered back on, revealing which door it was. Jumping up Virgil ran to the furthest right and felt for the door handle amongst the thick stream of black liquid. Honestly it felt cold and unsettling to touch it, but he had to ignore that as he felt around for a bit before feeling a smooth and metallic object brush his hands.

 

“Did you get it?”

 

Deceit walked over curious as Virgil grunted pushing the door open.

 

The first thing they realised was that this room was warmer than the others. It was almost blinding how bright and vibrant the colours in the room was compared to the dark dreary hallway. Taking one step into the room they could smell something sweet cooking, the floor below them was covered in a soft multi coloured carpet and the walls were plain white. Not only that but a sound was coming from deeper in the room, one that made them all perk up in relief.

 

It was Patton singing.

 

\--

“Well…” Logan started.

 

“This is certainly homely.” Roman finished. 

 

While the rest of the darkscape looked like some haunted horror maze, the tone in Patton’s room was certainly upbeat and vibrant. Walking around the small pathway, they were led into a rather large room. On one side there was a kitchen, similar to the one back at home. The whole thing was polished to perfection and had stickers and trinkets around the area. A large dining room table was what caught their attention, however. From one wall to the other it stretched out with a variety of cushioned chairs. Plates of cakes and other assortments such as tea and snacks were placed around the table, all filled to the brim and smelled like heaven upon seeing it. The table had a cover on it that was white with little hearts on the bottom of the fabric. Fairy lights were stuck up to the walls all around them, glowing soft colours of red and blue.

 

Not only that, but the one thing they noticed immediately without fail was the center of the table. There was a few shadows sitting on both sides happily laughing, holding their drinks in their hands as they were swaying along to none other than Patton’s little song. He was sitting on a large blue chair with small pillows either side of him. His legs were up and crossed on the seat instead of the floor as he was laughing the entire time, not realising he had guests just yet.

 

Deceit was the first to react, his heart racing as he felt an overwhelming sense of relief they hadn't found him chained

up in a dark scary room, or crying as the shadows would torment him. Instead he was acting as nothing was wrong- maybe they could get out of this place easier than he thought-

 

“Dee?”

 

Patton had abruptly stopped his tune when he looked up to see his friends awkwardly hanging by the entrance of the room. With a wide grin he jumped out of his seat onto the table, the shadows not caring that silverware and plates were being pushed aside or rattled. In a rush of excitement, he had done a running start and jumped off of the table straight for Deceit. 

  
“Oh I’ve missed you so much! I was wondering when you were going to join me!”

  
He squealed hugging Deceit tightly, hopping in one spot excitedly. 

While it was a cute moment and the others were more than happy to see Patton was alright, Virgil was staring at the shadows, their heads moving in unison quietly to face the group.

 

“Patton I'm not glad you’re safe. Listen we need to sta-”

 

Deceit started trying to tug Patton towards the exit but Patton just laughed and took Deceits arm dragging him to the table. The shadows now standing up to drag the others as well. “Nonsense! You need to stay for food! This realm lets me summon whatever I want so I made sure to make a biiiig meal for all of you.” He grinned proudly satisfied, that they were all sitting on their respective cushions as plates suddenly appeared in front of them each. 

 

Virgil was starting to get uncomfortable, and from his glance towards Deceit, it was clear the two of them knew something wasn't right. For starters, Patton had taken his hoodie off and was wearing it, something Patton wasnt a fan of doing unless it was his cat onesie. Not only that, but his posture was something else entirely when sitting down, he sat up straight and looked at them all with a gaze in his eyes that wasn't natural. As if he was expecting them all to react the way he wanted them to. Not only that but the biggest glaring problem here was how Patton reacted upon seeing them.    
  


Patton would’ve been in tears by now, apologising to both him and Deceit for how badly hurt they both got. When Virgil last saw Patton, he was sobbing through shaky breath that he was dangerous. So the fact that he was acting as if nothing happened between them was sending alarm signals to his anxious mind. His hands fiddling with the cloth in front of him as he was silently trying to weigh his options here. While Patton was happily rambling away, the shadows were watching them intensely. Just waiting for one of them to slip up and try and ruin the illusion this room had set up. 

 

Sighing he gave one more glance to the others who also looked as confused and uncomfortable as he was. But none of them had the courage to say anything as Patton clapped his hands and food appeared on each sides plates. A cup manifested in his own hands as he took a sip of his drink and leaned in excitedly.

 

“So, While I was here I had a really great idea.” He started as he waved his hand to manifest a small cake, taking a bite, melting with how good it tasted; “Mm, If this place is everything I want it to be. Why don't we all just live here from now on?” 

 

“Stay...here?” Logan was the first to speak up cautiously as Patton gave an eager nod. “Yeah! This is the perfect opportunity for all of us to get along together without any interruptions.” He finished the cake, licking his fingers with satisfaction as he leaned back on the chair letting it rock back and forth slightly. 

 

“Ok but what about Thomas?” Deceit was the next to speak up, Virgil shrunk down tensely at how cold he sounded. “He’s perfectly fine without you, The longer you stay here the chance he will get better.”  There was a revealing look in his eyes. Deceit knew this game and he was going to play it well, it was clear he wasn't talking to a light side anymore. As much as it pained him deeply, he knew very well Patton was on that fine line between being a light and dark side, and one tip could push him either way. 

 

The room rattled as they could hear the beasts roars faintly in the background.

 

Yet Patton wasn't fazed by that. His hand was now tightly holding his cup as he brought his other hand to gently touch it, rubbing his finger on the surface as he hummed.

 

“I don't care what happens to him.”

 

Roman and Logan’s breath hitched from the across the table as Virgil was trying to stay strong at how Patton was staring at them now. The smile might’ve still been on his face, but it was forced, his lip twitching as if to bite down the vile feeling within him. His eyes were dead locked onto Deceits, silently trying to gauge the others intentions as he stood up and sighed playfully. 

 

“Sadly I’m not hungry anymore. But I’m sure there's other things we could do instead.”

 

He hummed twirling a finger as the shadows from beneath the floor rose up and grabbed each of the sides by their waists, keeping them all in place. 

 

“Patton, this place isn't good for you, we need to leave-” Roman started, trying to free his hands in a panic but the slam on the table made him jump in surprise. 

  
Patton’s hands were tightly pressed against the table as he leaned in, propping his elbow onto the table to lean his head against the palm of his hand. “You know, I was really looking forward to you all joining me. I thought: ‘huh, something feels empty! Maybe it's because my friends haven't arrived yet’. But I'm starting to see now that never was the case.” He frowned, his expression switching from bored to hurt as he stood up looking down at each of them.

 

“I thought you of all people Dee would be thrilled to be here with me. What was that promise about never leaving my side? Well look at what you’re doing right now!” He threw his hands in the air upset as the room shook once more. The beast was drawing nearer. 

 

“Patton, listen, I know this place may seem like paradise but it's the Leviathan, its tricking your mind to-”

 

“And Virgil. My own best friend. All of you are looking at me as if I’ve done something wrong, as if I’m always doing something wrong! This place is bad for me? The only thing this place has done was show me it was ok to feel happy, that not everything has to be my responsibility. All you lot care about is that I go and fix Thomas because it's the ‘right’ thing to do. As if my feelings don't come first in the matter!.”

 

The fairy lights started to flicker.

 

The cups shook and starred as the liquid was starting to ripple by the quakes just below. 

 

“If you were all my friends you would be happy for me! Well guess what? I gave up my role when I woke up in this place! So ‘morality’ isn't going to be here to fix your problems anymore!”

 

In a second, the shaking stopped. The room submerged itself in darkness once more from the Leviathan’s presence. 

 

**_“You’re in my room now.”_ **

 

Patton spoke, but it was no longer just his voice. All the shadows had now sunk over to his side, rising one by one as they all spoke in unison.

 

Deceit’s eyes widened as the room started to illuminate once more as the soft blue chair was changed to a large red throne. The cups and food on the table had turned rotten and foul, even the cups started to overfill with black liquid that stained the table cloth. The fairy lights started to explode one by one till it reached the centre-

The centre where Patton stood before them.

 

His appearance had changed. The same illuminating glow that would reveal secrets in the room mirrored his look. His eyes were tinted pink with swirls in his iris. A bowtie was glowing on his collared top as the sweatshirt he wore over his shirt was instead a long tailored suit that had tail ends that went to the floor. Each side had the image of an eye on each side. It honestly was if you had put a filter over him. The changes weren't anything physical but rather looked like it was painted over him with neon pink lights. 

 

His smile was sickeningly wide, his freckles lighting up one by one by the soft glow as he lifted a hand and turned it to the left slightly. In correspondingly to that the entrance of the room started to break into sections that rotated and spun into different directions, just like how the staircase was before. The walls started to drip with the black substance once more as shadows started to crawl their way out, throwing their bodies onto the ground, dragging themselves out. 

 

Virgil was trying his hardest to struggle against the restraints around him, his heartbeat picking up in fear as the ceiling above started to crack rapidly down to the floor as some of the room started to break apart revealing the outside world. 

 

What was staring at them from outside would haunt their dreams for a long time.

 

He couldn't see its face entirely but the Leviathan was horrifying from close up. Six eyes all lined up in twos on one side of the face, each one blinking in unison and moving towards where the sides were, some delaying its movements.  Its teeth was bared and sharp as Patton looked to the side where the beast was and grinned walking over to reach out to pet its scaled face. 

 

**_“Do you like him? He’s the one who brought me here and took care of me. He can take care of you all too if you just give in.”_ **

 

While the others were shaking in horror. Deceit was currently fighting his restraints to the best of his ability but found no results. Not until he remembered. Whipping his head up he gave a small whistle which prompted something to slither up the chair onto his arm. A relieved smile painted his face, the snake that followed Patton had still stuck around. With a small nod the snake started to hack away at the bounds until Deceit had the strength to pull it apart with his hands.

 

“Deceit, what are we going to do? Even if we all break free the room is locked tight and that thing is out there…” Virgil hissed quietly, thanking the gods that Patton was too invested in petting the Levithan with a childish indulgence to notice that Deceit was making no haste to free the others.

 

Letting the snake bite his wrist, he quickly took a lick as he shivered shaking his head. “We need to get Patton back to your realm, the longer he’s in here the harder it's going to be to get him back to normal.”

“But the shadows have us cornered, we can't just grab Patton and run.” Roman now whispered to the others grabbing the sheath of his sword making sure it was still in place just incase. 

 

“I know...The only way this is going to work is to get Patton to create an exit for us...Meaning we’re going to have to play this safe…”

 

Deceit murmured as he quickly sat back down, pretending his hands were tied to his back as he cleared his throat. “Patton? Listen, I was being an idiot. I want to see what makes this place so special to you so that I can share that feeling of excitement.” He called out as Patton stopped petting the Levithan to turn around to Deceit, his face blushing as the crazed look in his eyes had soften to a more excited and relieved expression. “I'm so glad you feel that Dee. Here ah- I made a bit of a mess in this room haven't I? Let me sort some of it out.” He clapped his hand as the food that was laying on the table rotting away was cleaned up. The room was still reflected in its twisted perception because of the overcasting shadow that hung upon them. 

 

Yet Patton thought it was perfect as he sat down now, clicking his hand as the Levithan growled and swam away, lingering however close by. 

 

“...You know, I really did miss you.”

  
Patton spoke up as he put his hands on his lap. “I felt like this place was missing something, no matter what I could coundure. I couldn't make you guys. I tried of course, but they never spoke the same way you lot did, they didn't laugh the same when I used to make my puns. It all felt fake.”

 

He sighed slouching down on the table, his hands over his arms. “I just wanted us to go back to normal. Before you all became weird.” He mumbled upset as the others looked confused;

 

“Wait us?”

 

Roman spoke up as Patton nodded sitting up. “You weren't sleeping Roman! You looked miserable for a week, it was scary seeing you like that. You weren't you’re confident self. And Logan, you became more withdrawn and dismissive, when I brought up to you lot about Thomas’s priorities I thought you would be the one to help us see reason. And Virgil...You worried me the most, every time I saw you in the hallways, you would run away from me.”

 

Tears started to form as he buried his head further into his arms. The room beginning to melt slowly around them. “When I tried to talk to you all, you all just blew up at me! You pointed your sword at me and told me I was wrong. I just wanted to make sure you were all ok….”

 

Logan was the first to snap into realisation what was going on as he glanced at the others.

 

“I believe this is a bit more complicated than what we believe...While for us, Patton’s the one who was acting odd under the influence of the Levithan. To Patton, he genuinely believes nothing has changed about him- his perceptions has been altered that our reactions to him is the thing that strikes him as odd.”

 

Patton nodded rubbing his eyes looking up. “I thought this room would make you happy, but all of you just started getting mad at me again….”

 

“Oh Pat…”

 

Virgil murmured feeling his heart ache. Apart of him was trying to convince himself that the Patton before them was not the one he knew, but rather was just a sick twisted version of his best friend. But that was far from the truth. “Listen, none of us hate you, god if anything we’re all just worried sick.”

 

“Why? I keep telling you that Thomas’s will deal with his own issues, it’s not my job to sort him out-”

 

“No. We were worried about you.”

 

Patton paused at that confused as Virgil carried on; “Patton, I know from your perspective we’ve been distant to you, that you feel like we’ve pushed you away but from our point of view you’ve been doing the same thing. The leviathan’s been messing with your head for over a week now Patton, I should’ve talked to you sooner but I was scared to... I didn't want to make you upset because I knew you were spending time with Deceit and you looked genuinely happy that I thought there would be no harm...but we were wrong.”

 

“Do you remember anything from before Patton?” Deceit urged now, taking Patton’s hands into his own squeezing them into his hands. “You were scared...you came to me because you had attacked Virgil-”

 

“What? N-No I didnt...I would never hurt my best friend.” Patton flinched now, his head starting to pound as the blocked memories were starting to creep back into light. Knowing it was working both was a relief and a pain for Deceit to see Patton look so conflicted. But he needed to keep going, he needed to remind Patton of who he once was, to let the light in him fight back. 

 

“Patton...I’m sorry…” Virgil murmured and took his jacket off as Patton covered his mouth in horror. Thick dark bruises littered Virgil’s skin from where the shadows violently attacked him. Deceit was next in showing the damage he faced as well. “It wasn't your fault though.” Deceit said sternly; “This place was corrupting you, you weren't aware of what was going on. You were scared, and...I think that's why you came to my door begging to stay, the good in you was trying to warn me something was wrong...but I was too late to notice it in time.” 

 

Tears started to drip down onto the table, first the occasional drop and then it was just consistent as Patton took his hands back, holding his sides in agony as the tears wouldn't stop. His body shaking as his eyes were wide with fear. Did he really do that? His memories were starting to fight back against the fog that was surrounding his mind, filtering everything he didn't want to remember out. Choking on a sob he covered his mouth as flashes of memories from before was starting to run through his head- before he had been dragged down by the beast. “I-I remember now I….”

 

The room was starting to melt and twist as Roman was the first to notice in panic that the Levithan wasn't too pleased with their interfering as it was starting to swim now back towards the group. He tried to warn the others but was cut off as Patton let out a loud scream, backing away from the table and kicking his chair over. His head was on fire as he could feel the very duality of his consciousness fighting for what was right and wrong. 

 

He hurt his best friends!

 

Why does it matter? They were looking down on him!

 

They just wanted to help him!

 

It didn't matter!

 

The others stood up panicked now that the snake had freed them all and Patton was writhing with agony as he fell to his knees. Deceit and Virgil both jumped over the table to help him up as Logan was starting to look for a way for them to get out but backed away seeing the shadows starting to pour in from the door, Roman was quick to raise his sword but kept glancing back at the hole in the wall feeling his heart race.    
  


It was almost here.

 

“GUYS…”

  
Roman called out trying to find a way for them to escape, his heart pounding against his chest loudly that everything else felt muffled around him. Logan was backing away from the shadows that reached out to harm them as Roman had to quickly swipe his sword, watching their bodies disintegrate upon impact. However more and more kept crawling in, growling angrily.

 

Deceit had grabbed onto Patton helping him up to his feet; “It's not safe here Patton, please we need to take you home.” He begged as Virgil was just beside him, cupping his face and whispering it was alright to calm the panicked side down as Patton wailed in pain. “M-My head feels like it’s splitting…”

 

“I know Patton I know...It’s going to be alright…” Deceit quickly hushed him kissing his head and rocking him back and forth as he looked to the others. “We need to get out of here, is there any other exit?”

 

“The blasted shadows are blocking the door! I’m not even sure where we can go!” Logan called back at him, kicking the shadows away with his foot if they got too close. The group was starting to get cornered now as they poured in from every direction, with nothing but the gaping hole from the wall behind them. 

 

“Guys! The Leviathan is LITERALLY about to hit us!” Roman shrilled in panic as the group turned around to the wall, turning pale in fear. It’s large gaping jaw opening up to show a row of teeth that spiraled around, sharp and jagged as it was seconds before it would impact them. Patton however whipped his head up, his eyes wide;

  
“There is another exit! T-”

 

CRASH

 

The room went pitch black. 

  
  
  



End file.
